Better Oblivion Community Center, Phoebe Bridgers & Conor Oberst’s new band, have announced their first ever Irish show at Vicar Street on 13 May 2019. Tickets €27.50 plus booking fee are on sale now

The rumours percolating since summer on fansites, Reddit boards and Twitter were finally confirmed last month when an album entitled Better Oblivion Community Center by Better Oblivion Community Center appeared on DSPs, shortly followed by a live performance of “Dylan Thomas” on the Late Show With Stephen Colbert on CBS.

The new band, formed by Phoebe Bridgers and Conor Oberst, kept their plans under wraps for months as they wrote and recorded in Los Angeles in the summer and autumn of 2018. By the tail end of the year rumours were swirling and a mysterious phone number appeared on social media platforms. Fans of both artists began receiving enigmatic brochures in the mail and a bus stop advertising the Better Oblivion Community Center appeared in their hometown of LA.

The album – released by Dead Oceans – appeared without warning on DSPs and within the hour the band were performing for the very first time on American network television.

WATCH Better Oblivion Community Center performing “Dylan Thomas” on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert”

Produced by Bridgers, Oberst and long time Oberst/Bright Eyes collaborator Andy LeMaster, Better Oblivion Community Center features the work of several talented friends: Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ guitarist Nick Zinner appears on two tracks (first single “Dylan Thomas” and “Dominoes”) while Carla Azar (Autolux, Jack White) plays drums on half of the album. Dawes’ rhythm section Wylie Gelber and Griffin Goldsmith appear on the other half. Singer/songwriter Christian Lee Hutson contributes guitar and Anna Butterss provides bass. Zinner joined Phoebe and Conor for their live performance on Stephen Colbert, along with the touring band, Emily Retsas, Elizabeth Goodfellow and Christian Lee Hutson.

Praise for Better Oblivion Community Center

‘Oberst and Bridgers have created one of those rare collaborative albums that rank with the best efforts of the respective artists’ 8/10 Clash

‘A collection of quiet, wandering thoughts: the sound of twin souls burrowing deeper into their common ground’ 7.7 Pitchfork

‘A loose but beautifully crafted collection of folk-rock songs’ 8/10 The Independent