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Jan 24, 2019 By Christopher Roberts Photography by Nik Freitas Better Oblivion Community Center

Phoebe Bridgers and Conor Oberst (of Bright Eyes) have teamed up as the new band Better Oblivion Community Center and have surprise released their self-titled debut album via Dead Oceans (it’s out on CD/vinyl February 22). Last night they stopped by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to announce the project and perform the album’s “Dylan Thomas.” Stream the whole album below and also watch the Colbert performance below. Also below are the album’s tracklist and cover art.

The album features the following players: Phoebe Bridgers (vocals, baritone guitar), Conor Oberst (vocals, piano), Nick Zinner (guitar), Carla Azar (drums, percussion), Anna Butterss (upright bass), Christian Lee Hutson (guitar), Andy LeMaster (samples), and Taylor Hollingsworth (sampled voice).

Phoebe Bridgers, Conor Oberst, and Andy LeMaster produced the album, which was engineered by LeMaster at Fivestar Studio in Los Angeles and mixed by John Congleton. Bridgers and Oberst wrote all the songs except for “Chesapeake” and “Forest Lawn,” which were written by Bridgers, Oberst, and Christian Lee Hutson, and “Dominos,” which was written by Taylor Hollingsworth.

The project was recently teased via a hotline you could call to get a strange answering machine message (check out the YouTube video of it below). The band will also be performing on CBS This Morning this Saturday, January 26. A press release promises that tour dates will be announced soon.

Bridgers released her debut album, Stranger in the Alps, back in September 2017 via Dead Oceans and then released a deluxe digital version in October 2018, also via Dead Oceans. Last year Bridgers also teamed up with fellow singer/songwriters Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus to form supergroup Boygenius, whose self-titled debut EP was released in October via Matador. Bridgers and Oberst have collaborated before, for example he sang on Stranger in the Alps’ “Would You Rather” and appeared in the song’s video.

Read our 2017 exclusive interview with Phoebe Bridgers and check out our photo-shoot with her.

Better Oblivion Community Center Tracklist:

1. I Didn’t Know What I Was In For
2. Sleepwalkin’
3. Dylan Thomas
4. Service Road
5. Exception to the Rule
6. Chesapeake
7. My City
8. Forest Lawn
9. Big Black Heart
10. Dominoes

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