Better Oblivion Community Center (album)

Bridgers and Oberst wrote and recorded the album in secret in Los Angeles in mid- to late 2018.[4]

Writing for Rolling Stone, Will Hermes called its music "soft rock for hard times",[5] while Pitchfork's Sam Sodomsky called it a "tight-knit folk-rock album".[6]

The album is a loose concept album about the Better Oblivion Community Center, a fictional dystopian wellness facility.[6]

The album had an elaborate rollout featuring cryptic brochures and a telephone hotline.[6] They performed "Dylan Thomas" on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on January 23, 2019.[7] The album was released the next day.

On January 29, 2019, the band announced their initial concert tour of the United States and Europe along with releasing a music video for their initial single, "Dylan Thomas", directed by Michelle Zauner of the band Japanese Breakfast.[8]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	7.6/10[9]
Metacritic	78/100[10]
Review scores
Source	Rating
The 405	7.5/10[11]
Clash	8/10[12]
Consequence of Sound	B[13]
DIY	[14]
Exclaim!	8/10[15]
The Guardian	[16]
The Line of Best Fit	8/10[17]
NME	[18]
Pitchfork	7.7/10[6]
Rolling Stone	[5]

Better Oblivion Community Center has received generally positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 78, based on 24 reviews.[10]

Writing for Rolling Stone, Will Hermes said, "The duo harmonize beautifully, Oberst's voice often just a brooding floorboard creak behind Bridgers' brightly bloodshot confidences".[5] David Sackllah of Under the Radar said, "This is a cohesive, creative, and multi-faceted record that will over-joy fans of both artists while offering the spark of magic that so rarely comes with these kinds of collaborations."[19] Sam Walker-Smart of Clash praised the album, stating "its depth, brave sonic choices and chemistry make for a near perfect record. Rather than sticking purely with the sad acoustic vibes, the album effortlessly blends country, electro elements and alt-rock with ease. It's as if the LP was simultaneously recorded in 2018, 2007, and 1993, a tonal greatest hits of hard-hitting emotion and fist-pumping fun."[12] Sarah Murphy of Exclaim! gave the album 8/10, stating "The best parts of the album... are the moments where it doesn't sound exactly like anything either artist has released before."[15]

• Phoebe Bridgers – vocals (1–10), guitar (1–4, 6–8), electric piano (2), baritone guitar (9, 10); production, photography
• Conor Oberst – vocals (1–10), guitar (1, 2, 4, 7–9), baritone guitar (3), piano (4, 10), keyboards (5), Whirly tube (7); production, photography
• Christian Lee Hutson – EBow (1), tambourine (3), guitar (6, 8), pocket piano (6)
• Carla Azar – drums (1, 3, 5, 10), percussion (1,10)
• Andy LeMaster – bass guitar (1), synthesizer (1, 5, 6), programming (5), pocket piano (5), Mellotron (5), samples (10); production, engineering
• Griffin Goldsmith – drums (2, 4, 7, 8, 9), percussion (2, 4, 7, 8, 9)
• Wylie Gelber – bass guitar (2, 4, 7, 8, 9)
• Nick White – keyboard (2)
• Nick Zinner – guitar (3, 10)
• Anna Butterss – bass guitar (3, 5), upright bass (10)
• John Congleton – synthesizer (3); mixing
• Nathaniel Walcott – synthesizer (6)
• Marshall Vore – percussion (9)
• Taylor Hollingsworth – sampled voice (10)
• Bob Ludwig – mastering
• Nik Freitas – photography
• Nathaniel David Utesch – design, layout