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August 03 2016
Conor Oberst’s Ruminations Available October 14 on Nonesuch
Solo Acoustic Album Features 10 New Songs Written and Recorded by Oberst in Omaha, NE
“Fans take for granted that Mr. Oberst
will reveal his every thought to them, from romance to personal
philosophy to politics. He’s the image of sensitivity ... Yet [he] isn’t
just singing his diary … He also measures out every musical and verbal
effect. The craftsmanship makes him seem even more unguarded.” —New York Times
In the winter of 2016, Conor Oberst found himself
hibernating in his hometown of Omaha after living in New York City for
more than a decade. He emerged with the unexpectedly raw, unadorned solo
album Ruminations, available October 14, 2016, on Nonesuch Records. "I
wasn't expecting to write a record. I honestly wasn't expecting to do
much of anything. Winter in Omaha can have a paralyzing effect on a
person but in this case it worked in my favor. I was just staying up
late every night playing piano and watching the snow pile up outside the
window. Next thing I knew I had burned through all the firewood in the
garage and had more than enough songs for a record. I recorded them
quick to get them down but then it just felt right to leave them alone," says Oberst. Ruminations is available to pre-order now from iTunes and from Nonesuch.com,
where a limited number of pre-orders will include a signed print.
Oberst will perform songs from the album at a handful of special solo
shows this fall at venues including Carnegie Hall and the Ryman Auditorium; complete tour dates are below.
Oberst began publicly releasing music in 1994 at the age of 14. Those
early recordings, made in Omaha on four-track cassette by Oberst and
his friends, were an introduction to the work of a prodigious songwriter
whose creative outpouring would soon be widely lauded. Writing and
recording prolifically over the next two decades, first with his band Bright Eyes and later under his own name—and at special moments as a member of Desaparecidos and Monsters of Folk—Oberst became known, the Los Angeles Times said, as an artist who “sees the world with fresh and fearless eyes.” The Times continued,
“He weaves his findings into intimate songs whose melodies are as
timeless as a hymnal and whose images are hauntingly poetic....He can
command your attention with long narratives that have more words than a
pocket dictionary, or stop you cold with a single line.”
In Nebraska last winter, songs that hark back to that earlier era
unexpectedly began to take shape. Oberst went to ARC, the studio he
built with his Bright Eyes bandmate and longtime friend Mike Mogis, to
record that music. With the help of engineer Ben Brodin, he recorded all
the songs in the span of 48 hours. The results are almost sketch-like
in their sparseness, and they ultimately became the songs that comprise Ruminations. These
tracks do not have the multi-layered instrumentation of the most recent
Bright Eyes and solo albums: This is Oberst alone with his guitar,
piano, and harmonica; the songs connect with some of the rough magic and
anxious poetry that first brought him to the attention of the world,
while their lyrical complexity and concerns make it obvious they could
only have been written in the present.
Ruminations Track List:
1.Tachycardia 6. The Rain Follows the Plow
2. Barbary Coast (later) 7. A Little Uncanny
3. Gossamer Thin 8. Next of Kin
4. Counting Sheep 9.You All Loved Him Once
5. Mamah Borthwick (A Sketch) 10. Till St. Dymphna Kicks Us Out
Conor Oberst has several live dates, including intimate solo
performances in November and December. Due to popular demand, a second
Los Angeles live date has been added in December. All tour dates below.
Conor Oberst Live Dates:
August 18 - Grand Island, NE @ 309 N Pine Street
August 20 - Lyons, CO @ Rocky Mountain Folks Festival
September 28 - San Luis Obispo, CA @ Fremont Theatre
October 1 - San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
October 2 - Pomona, CA @ The Glass House
October 3 - Las Vegas, NV @ Brooklyn Bowl
October 5 - Santa Fe, NM @ The Bridge at Santa Fe Brewing Company
October 7 - Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater
October 8 - Austin, TX @ Austin City Limits Festival
November 6 - Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium *
November 17 - Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall *
November 23 - New York, NY @ Carnegie Hall *
November 26 - Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall (SOLD OUT) *
November 27 - Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall (SOLD OUT) *
December 9 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Cathedral Sanctuary at Immanuel Presbyterian Church *
December 10 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Cathedral Sanctuary at Immanuel Presbyterian Church (SOLD OUT) *
*Solo shows
Miwi La Lupa supporting 9/28 & 10/1
Anna McClellan supporting 9/28
Jim James supporting 10/1
Pearl Charles supporting 10/2-10/7
Simon Joyner supporting 11/23
