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10.0
94134
10.0 |
The Independent
Probably the best work of the singer’s career, a wide-ranging survey of contemporary shortcomings in which the frequent bursts of offhand spite and bitterness are perfectly balanced by the warmth of the folk-rock arrangements
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9.1
94283
9.1 |
Paste Magazine
Over the course of 17 songs, Oberst’s inner brat rages against the numbing of the senses and erosion of civility, only to arrive at an awareness that never quite resolves
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9.0
94087
9.0 |
The Music
Salutations is a brave album and Oberst should be commended for it. There's a fair amount of courage in recreating an album that people know and love, but the results prove that sometimes things are better the second time around
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9.0
94089
9.0 |
Drowned In Sound
The sound of a gifted songwriter comfortable with his craft and in his own skin, offering glinting new facets to earlier sounds and the songs present on Ruminations, and it makes for a subtle, yet striking departure from everything that came before
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8.6
94308
8.6 |
Gig Soup
67-minute poetic masterpiece
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8.0
94482
8.0 |
State
In Salutations, Conor Oberst creates a sound that remains the same throughout, even as it fluctuates. Different feelings are expressed, but a dull state flattens out life’s experiences with violins and harmonicas and Oberst’s monotone vocals
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8.0
94287
8.0 |
The Observer
Sprawling companion to Ruminations
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8.0
94147
8.0 |
DIY
Rich, nuanced, and steeped in major key melodies
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8.0
94104
8.0 |
Mojo
The increasingly salty bite of Oberst's lyrics is only sharpened by the homely warmth of Salutations' arrangements. Print edition only
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8.0
94105
8.0 |
Q
Bright Eyes singer reinterprets last album with impressive results. Print edition only
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8.0
94107
8.0 |
Uncut
The expanded palette, majoring on warm, Dylanesque waltzes and rolling country-rock, brings out the colours of the songs. Print edition only
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8.0
94122
8.0 |
Exclaim
Oberst's most ambitious album since his 2002 Bright Eyes masterpiece Lifted, and the best instalment in his solo discography
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8.0
94131
8.0 |
The Irish Times
That rare remake/remodel that works on every level
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7.7
94099
7.7 |
Earbuddy
Salutations replaces Ruminations‘ atmosphere of isolation and despair with what sounds like a party in the studio
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7.5
94086
7.5 |
Consequence Of Sound
While gentler than its predecessor, Salutations is his bulwark against the tide, a warm record that offers calm in the cacophony, comfort in the struggle, the darkness amid the hope and the hope amid the darkness
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7.5
94224
7.5 |
Under The Radar
There's a live album feel most of the time. It's possible to imagine Oberst holding court on Honky Tonk Highway in Nashville; the crowd lapping up toe-tapping numbers full of guitars, violins, and harmonica
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7.5
94250
7.5 |
The 405
In comparison to his contemporaries, Salutations is a good album. But, Conor Oberst is an artist whose current work begs to be compared to past work. And in that realm, the album suffers
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7.0
94096
7.0 |
Loud And Quiet
It’s typically high-bar Oberst fayre; Sunday night music, music which requires a quiet context, and a reflective mood
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7.0
94084
7.0 |
The Line Of Best Fit
Ruminations is essential, then; consider Salutations its eccentric cousin, often engaging and occasionally difficult
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6.6
94082
6.6 |
Pitchfork
One of his most demanding albums, and also one of his least ambitious
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6.0
94085
6.0 |
The Arts Desk
Only on one track do words and music really come together, and it's one of the new ones. The quick-fire anarchic punk-folk of "Napalm" is the most rocking number here. And probably the best
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6.0
94140
6.0 |
Evening Standard
He remains a singer of enormous emotional charisma with a willingness to plumb the depths. There’ll be more to come
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5.0
94083
5.0 |
Slant Magazine
The album underscores how Oberst's labored intentions weigh down the raw instincts that made Ruminations soar
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4.0
94302
4.0 |
Spectrum Culture
The casualness here that is welcoming for anyone who is genuinely interested in his wellbeing. But, for anyone else that’s looking for some kind of cathartic release, it’s hard to imagine anything other than indifference, if not outright disappointment
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