by Stephen Thompson
Ever since his early teens, songwriting has come fairly quickly to Conor Oberst. Whether as a solo artist, withBright Eyes, in Desaparecidos, or in the supergroup Monsters Of Folk, he’s stayed steadily prolific while performing with nervy intensity at every stop on his winding and unpredictable career path. So it makes sense that Oberst would need a break, and that it would take him back to a quiet winter spot back home in Omaha.
It also makes sense that he’d end up spending that time writing a record, albeit a quiet one, with the telling title Ruminations. Gone are the lush, soulful full-band arrangements of his 2014 solo album Upside Down Mountain, to say nothing of Desaparecidos’ blistering rock. Here, Oberst’s distinctive warble is set against a spare patchwork of acoustic guitar, piano and the occasional harmonica, drawing most of the attention squarely to his words.