Sunday, July 22nd, 2007
Okkervil River - The Stage Names
After hearing a buzz about this band for some time, I finally checked out their 2005 masterpiece, Black Sheep Boy and have since been obsessed with this album. I literally have been listening to it non-stop for almost a month. Needless to say, I was excited to hear that after a two-year hiatus, they were releasing a new album this fall.
Stage Names, due out on August 7th is a change in direction for the band. While “Black Sheep Boy” is a powerful and sweeping album of raw, unrestrained emotion. While pleasing, the new album lacks some of the pain and grit that made the last so compelling. Songs like “Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe” is probably the most gratifying song, incorporating singer Will Sheff’s familiar cracked-voice howl and unsettling urgency. Much of the albums remaining tracks suffer from a lack of passion, often feeling like over-polished and unimaginative contemporary pop. Oddly enough, that’s precisely the sound they seem to have aimed to cultivate. In an interview with Pitchfork, Sheff states he wanted to “make a record that’s unemotional, that pushes people away and is sort of flippant.” Sadly, I suppose he succeeded. He also mentions that they recorded 15 songs for Stage Names, but pared it down a mere 9 tracks to keep the album “precise.” Let’s hope that these lost tracks contain more of the bitting poignency that made me a fan. I myself will continue to listen to their last record (and the Appendix album). You should too.
Okkervil River - Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe
Okkervil River - A Hand To Take Hold Of The Scene
Our Live is Not a Movie or Maybe (Live from Austin City Limits)