Conor Oberst has, it would seem, finally found his Band. I capitalize that on purpose, because I don’t mean “his backing band” so much as I mean “his ‘Dylan’s the Band’ band.” His first record with them, last year’s Conor Oberst was like a postcard, a loose, rollicking document preserving the memory of six guys having a blast making music in Mexico.

Their follow-up, Outer South is a sprawling, 70-minute monster of an album, featuring ten Oberst-penned (one sung by band member Macey Taylor) songs and two each from sidemen Jason Boesel, Nik Freitas and Taylor Hollingsworth. It might as well be an album and an EP shuffled together. A succinct, 10-song album from established-indie-giant Oberst and a 6-song EP by up-and-comers The Mystic Valley Band (still a dumb name, but so, come to think of it, is “The Band”).

My biggest concern before listening to the disc was the material not written by Oberst. Would it be any good? After all, the reason I listen to Conor Oberst and/or Bright Eyes is not because I think he’s a master of composition or an incredibly skilled singer. I, and arguably, most of his fans, listen because he is a compelling, literate song writer, who captures typical contemporary angst with an ingenuity all his own.

That being said, my fears were swiftly allayed.

While not even attempting to attain to the hyper-literate poesy of their leader, Conor’s minions did manage to turn out some rather enjoyable country-rock tunes.

The highlights are the tracks supplied by Hollingsworth. His first, “Air Mattress”, is an endearing little ditty that, despite what I just said, calls nothing to mind more than Oberst in “First Day of My Life” mode.

Album closing “Snake Hill” is quite possibly the highlight of the whole album, not just the non-Conor part. Hollingsworth spins an adorable but not cloying fable about obeying parents as the story of a snake that learns the hard way why his mother told him not to leave their home on Snake Hill.

Also worth noting is “Eagle on a Pole”, written/sung By Jason Boesel, and arguably much better than the track with the same name written by Oberst on his last album. It vaguely recalls Dylan’s “As I Went Out One Morning.”

The other songs are worth the listen as well. All told, if these guys decided to make an album without Oberst (Songs from Big Pink!) I would definitely be interested.

As to the rest of the album, Oberst’s song-writing is as solid as ever. Aside from the far-too-long “I Got the Reason #2”, none of the songs clunk. Stone-cold classics that add to the permanent playlist are “Roosevelt Room”, a classic politically-charged rant, and “Cabbage Town,” which is the closest Conor has written to a real love song in a good long time.

Though epic in length and sprawling in size, Outer South is an album definitely worth taking the time required to get to know it.