Conor Oberst to release solo album on Merge

It's barely been a year since the release of the last Bright Eyes full-length, Cassadaga, so yesterday's news came as a bit of a bleeding-heart-stopper.

Turns out that instead of collaborating with M. Ward, as we guesstimated late last year, the gooey center of Bright Eyes—Conor Oberst—has been holed up in a magical land of elves somewhere in Mexico, quietly working on the first solo album he's made since before he was legal (to drive, perv!).

It must've been tough for Merge Records to keep this under the lid for months, seeing as they'll be the first label besides Oberst's own Saddle Creek to release a full-length, Oberst-helmed project in a decade. Merge's press release about the new partnership is stacked with enlightening facts:

1) The album, Conor Oberst, was recorded in Jan. and Feb. '08 in a Mexican city called Tepoztlán with Oberst producing alongside longtime Bright Eyes pal Andy LeMaster.
2) Oberst's ersatz band is called The Mystic Valley Band, named after the "mountain villa" outside of town called Valle Mistico.
3) The album has 12 tracks (see below for track listing) and will be released on Aug. 5.
4) Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band already have a handful of tour dates scheduled, including one at September's Austin City Limits Festival, with more to come shortly.

Conor Oberst track listing:

1. Cape Cañaveral
2. Sausalito
3. Get-Well-Cards
4. Lenders In The Temple
5. Danny Callahan
6. I Don’t Want To Die (In The Hospital)
7. Eagle On A Pole
8. Moab
9. NYC – Gone, Gone
10. Valle Místico (Ruben's Song)
11. Souled Out!!!
12. Milk Thistle