Conor Oberst and Mystic Valley Band Announce Album Release

Conor Oberst announced yesterday that his latest project, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley band, would be releasing their sophomore album in the coming spring. The band's debut album, titled Conor Oberst, was released in August of last year on Merge Records.

The band announced that their forthcoming album, Outer South, would be released on May 5th. The album was recorded at Sonic Ranch Studios in Texas and features all members of the Mystic Valley band, including Taylor Hollingsworth, Nik Freitas, Macey Taylor, Nathaniel Walcott and Jason Boesel. Outer South consists of sixteen new tracks written cohesively by the band. The album includes the song Nikorette, which they played on Conon O'Brien last November. The band plans to play a string of shows on the east coast, preceding the release of the album and is part of the star-studded Coachella line-up.

Oberst’s ideology of the music industry has inspired a movement of independently directed and produced artists, many of which work closely with his small label, Saddle Creek Records. Conor, who has been writing and recording music since the tender age of fourteen says, “The whole ideology of indie rock doesn't hold any water anymore; it's not that clear-cut. Every time we sell a record, Time Warner gets a dime from our distributor. I already give a ridiculous amount of my income to the United States government, which is probably the most evil organization on the planet as far as killing people; I don't know how many bombs I've purchased with my tax dollars. Unless you're gonna live on a mountain somewhere, you're not gonna be free of the modern world and all the evils that go with it. What you can do is operate with intelligence and be compassionate, help people when you can. Do things not just for money, but for the craft of it” ( Spin interview, April 2007).

Oberst’s listeners continue to wait anxiously for the release and, like many critics, have very high hopes for the Nebraska-native’s newest album.