On first listen, do not be put off by the quirky intro, the unpolished recording and the echoed-voice that sounds more like a cassette than a cd. It appears that Conor Oberst uses this to add sincerity to an already convincing album, at the risk of immediately losing any form of mainstream audience. Unlike the moody, reclusive album 'Fevers and Mirrors', 'Lifted...' at times finds Conor and his collection of musicians in a slightly more upbeat state of mind (to write 'happy' would be too exagerated and too offensive a word). British fans might like to know that song 'Bowl of Oranges' is said to be a favourite of artist Ed Harcourt, and this track would certainly come under the list of songs instantly accessible along with 'You will. you' and 'Waste of paint'. However it is songs such as 'Lover i dont have to love'(displaying a dark repressed atmosphere similar to 'sunrise, sunset' from the 'Fevers and mirrors' album) where Oberst truly demonstrates his versatile emotions ranging from ambivolence, to depression to anger. Fans of Bright Eyes will know this already, and agree that for it to be categorized in the genre 'alt country' would be too dismissive of the Dylan-esque songs produced. Having done so myself, i would advise newcomers to listen to this album first as it is (though only slightly) more accessible than his previous albums that prefered to settle on one state of mind. At times it can be a challenge to listen to, which arguably isnt a bad thing in an era of insincere solo artists sticking to a similar formula.