Ruminations (album)


Ruminations is the seventh solo studio album by American musician Conor Oberst, released on October 14, 2016 on Nonesuch Records.

Background

On October 28, 2015, in the midst of Desaparecidos' tour for their second studio album Payola, it was announced that Conor Oberst had been hospitalized due to "laryngitis, anxiety, and exhaustion," according to a press release. The entirety of Desaparecidos' remaining tour dates were cancelled and Oberst returned to his hometown of Omaha to recuperate. Oberst would spend the coming months in Omaha, where he would go on to write and record the songs that make up Ruminations.

Recording

The songs were recorded in the winter of 2015 at ARC Studios in Oberst's native Omaha, Nebraska, with all the songs recorded in the span of 48 hours. They feature Oberst playing by himself. In a press release, Oberst described Ruminations' inception: Described as an acoustic album, the songs on the album solely feature Oberst with a guitar, piano, and a harmonica. All ten songs were re-recorded with fuller arrangements on Oberst's following album Salutations.

Artwork

The cover art features an image of Oberst playing the piano and the harmonica with a microphone and sheet music on display, marking the album's low-production and minimal instrumentation.

Accolades

Track listing

Charts