Seekers of Rich Deposits,

Conor Oberst’s self-titled album is making for pleasant listening right now. I’ve always been a big fan of the Bright Eyes franchise and I understand they’re much more popular in USA than in Scotland, they’ve even had No. 1 singles.

This project doesn’t really differ from Bright Eyes much in sound: folk-pop (often jaunty), multi-instrumental, duets here and there, killer lyrics strewn throughout.

Here are some of my favourite things about the album, Conor Oberst:

‘Red rocket blaze over Cape Canaveral’ and ‘Victory is sweet, even deep in the cheap seats’ during Cape Canaveral, a simple, subtle ditty – I like space travel, although I’ve never been due to a lack of cash, hence I sit in the cheap seats.

Get-Well-Cards could have been sung by Bob Dylan, I can imagine Bob singing, ‘Right there, that’s the postman sleeping in the sand.’ It’s a relative thumper of a chorus by Conor’s standard and infrequent use of them.

Summing up the hopelessness and helplessness of life in Danny Callahan, the child cancer patient, and trying to teach us how to appreciate what we can.

I’m not sure about segueing Danny Callahan into I Don’t Want to Die (in the Hospital), I suppose it makes a bit of sense. I love the jaunty piano bass line of this one, the whispered ‘slow, sad song’ and obviously, the chorus.

He says, ‘there’s nothing that the road cannot heal’, in Moab, but I’m not sure. I admit that I it is a treat to listen to this CD in the car, but fuel can be expensive and combustion leads to harmful emissions. There’s a few lovely lyrics in this one, particularly about the scale of affection.

Souled Out is the single, we trust his judgement by now. A clever pun on souled/sold out and getting into heaven, they’re there. I’m not bothered about getting into heaven, I think I’m busy that day.