Lately for some reason I’ve been on a Conor Oberst listening spree, and just like early Christmas morning, I got a treat with an unexpected free stream of him and his Mystic Valley Band’s upcoming May release entitled Outer South. Noticeably different than any of his past works (like letting other members take the helm with songwriting and lead singing), I’ll have to go through it more than once before rendering a verdict. Regardless, it’s not often that you see a band actively distributing new material way ahead of its scheduled release date — most of the time it’s leaked like in the case of Grizzly Bear and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs — so it’s reassuring that maybe the business model is changing in the music industry. We can only hope.

So if you got some free time and want to hear what the new Oberst sounds like, you can head over to Merge Records website and check it out. It’s only for a limited time, so better make it sooner than later.

Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band // Nikorette (from Outer South)

Conor Oberst, Jim James, and M. Ward // At the Bottom of Everything (live)