For a while now, the indie music community has been puzzled by a project known as Better Oblivion Community Center. There were rumors that it was a collaboration between Phoebe Bridgers and Conor Oberst, but nobody knew for sure. The pairing would certainly make sense: Bridgers is great at working with others, as she proved with her Boygenius supergroup last year. She’s also worked with Oberst before, like on a new version of his song “LAX” from a few months ago.
Well it turns out the rumors were true, and they was confirmed last night on The Late Show. Stephen Colbert introduced the duo as Better Oblivion Community Center for the first time, and at the same time, their self-titled album was made available on streaming services. On the show, they performed a new song, “Dylan Thomas,” an upbeat indie rock cut on which the two shared lead vocal duties.
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The Late Show team played along with the group’s throwback aesthetic and presented the performance in vintage VHS style, complete with a Better Oblivion Community Center watermark in the corner of the screen and text showing the “services” available at the fake community center, like “assisted self-care,” “sacred crystal implanting and removing,” and others. There were even a couple shots of Bridgers and Oberst as audience members, who were visibly excited to be on camera. Yes, it’s easy to tell that the two are having fun working together.
Watch Bridgers and Oberst perform “Dylan Thomas” and stream Better Oblivion Community Center above.
