Conor Orbest came out of the phase in which indie-folk audience perceived him as the best author of the younger generation and entered the new era in which indie-folk audience considers him one of the best authors of the middle genration. Salutations is continuation of Ruminations, so don't be surprised If you find the songs from the previous effort here. They are only filtered though band's arangaments and supported by few new pieces.
The biggest flaw of this record is its lack of cohesion. If we abstract that, we are getting a collection of stellar songs that compete with the giants such as Bob Dylan, Young, Leonard Cohen, etc. We witness the songs confronting the author himself. Oberst is inspired, powerful and vulnerable, and he has a lot to sing about. Salutations is a collection of heavy songs that are neither for TV nor radio. These songs are not for fun times, rather for contemplation and meditation. Oberst wants you to religiously listen to his confessions.
He sounds like a man who is struggling and he tries to deal with his issues the best he can. Luckily, he has good friends - Felice Brothers, The Daws and Jim Keltner helped him epxress himself in a manner that everyone can understand. It is difficult to listen to Napalm and not bring eerie quality of Bob Dylan to mind. It is also impossible not to be reminded of Dylan's narrative faculty and vocal phrasing when you dive into Gossamer Thin. In Anytime Soon, Oberst plays Tom Petty and Roger McGuin. My personal favorite is glorious closing title track where piano dominates. The final result is that Oberst sounds like some of the biggest legends.
Oberst's asset is vibrato-driven vocal which he knows how to utilize for the sake of melody. The overall impression is that less is more approach would work better on Ruminations. On the other hand, these are still gorgeous songs, and Oberst deserved to take a break. After the lawsuit (he was accused of rape), bad sellings of Upside Down The Mountain and health issues (he had an operation of a brain cyst), Salutations emerges as victorious product of sublimation. I wish he continues to have more worries in his songs than in life.
