Okkervil River - The Stand-Ins

Okkervil River
The Stand-Ins (Jagjaguwar, 2008)
Grade: B+

Download: Okkervil RIver - "Pop Lie"
Download: Okkervil RIver - "Lost Coastlines"

Okkervil River, since 2005, has emerged from a fairly mediocre career to ride a massive wave of success, from fans and critics alike. Following up the mature, complex and fascinating Black Sheep Boy, Okkervil released the masterful The Stage Names. While Sheff used his lyrics to plumb the depths of despair, the rest of the band crafted a bold and tight package in which to parse Sheff’s lyrics.

The Stand-Ins, their latest release, falls somewhat short of the near-perfection of The Stage Names, but still makes for a worthy follow-up. Conceived as the second half of The Stage Names, Stand-Ins retreads some of the same themes and stories, putting more meat on their bones. Whether he’s reflecting on misery of assorted kinds, musing on the relationship between performer and fan or giving himself over to despair, Will Sheff always proves to be one of the most densely – and naturally – meaningful lyricists in rock. On “On Tour With Zykos,” Sheff captures the mundane aspects of coming home and crashing when you should be working, writing, or doing something (anything!) productive. His hesitating, drawling delivery just reinforces the foot-dragging aspects of day-to-day life.

Perhaps a little paradoxically, the downtrodden nature of the lyrics on both The Stage Names and The Stand-Ins is what makes the fact that the albums were released as separate bodies of work function especially well. If the two albums had been released together, people would have died of despair about halfway through. But by cutting them apart and giving people the time to appreciate the two bodies as separate, the audience is able to appreciate The Stand-Ins as a contemplation on the same topics rather than as an extended meditation.

One of Okkervil's strongest selling points is their ability to draw influences from a multitude of bands and styles without sounding forced or clunky. The buzzing orchestral keyboards of "The Stand-Ins, One" are abruptly displaced by the jangling, bass-heavy "Lost Coastlines." Sheff, along with recently departed (to concentrate on Shearwater) guitar player Jonathan Meiburg, alternate vocals, with Meiburg taking the smooth, almost jazzy parts and Sheff bouncing along with the faster paced parts. It's a fun effect that I wished they would have used more often on previous albums. And as soon as the song is over, the group changes directions, infusing their jangly pop rock with dewey-eyed folk, belieing the dismal nature of "Singer Songwriter's" lyrics. Then, in another sharp contrast, Okkervil goes off into soulful bluesy jamming on "Starry Stairs."

And they keep up the pace the whole album. The Stand-Ins is an extravagant mixture of styles, altering and mutating all the way through while still holding to a core of jangly, excitable rock. It doesn't have quite the same tightness or quotability of The Stage Names, but it’s a damn good follow-up.

Okkervil River MySpace Page

(April Wright)

New Music: Okkervil River, Marnie Stern, Jay-Z, Emiliana Torrini, Bodies of Water

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Several MP3s have been released in the past few days, and most of them have been of a uniformly excellent quality. So I composed a playlist of these songs, and will now briefly write them up.

Okkervil River

Download:Okkervil River - "Lost Coastlines"

Continuing with breakout LP The Stage Names' theme of regret faced by the creatively ambitious, their loved ones, and the journeys of the hangers-on who come and go, "Lost Coastlines" features Okkervil River's Will Scheff and Jonathan Meiburg (now solely devoted to Shearwater) trade vocal leads over a deceptively merry blast of doo-wop and Motown soul-influenced orch-pop. I don't know when Will Scheff decided he was Ben E. King, but anyone who so clearly declares themselves a musical descendent of Berry Gordy and his minions needs as much praise as can be possibly given. The horns, though brief, are heartmelting, beautiful, and life-affirming in the most joyous of ways.

Grade: A

Jay-Z

Download: Jay-Z - "Jockin' Jay-Z" (via)

A supposed leak from the in-progress The Blueprint 3 (produced by Kanye and No ID?) "Jockin' Jay" begins with a beat and a vocal hook refreshing reminiscent of golden-age era hip-hop before launching into a "99 Problems"-esque statement of purpose. The pseudo-feud with Oasis is getting a bit old, but Mr. Carter still manages to freshly diss the UK group with their biggest hit. Even though Jay takes on his critics on this track, I doubt he'll have any haters left if Jay keeps the quality of his work this high. Dope Boy Fresh indeed.

Grade: A-

Marnie Stern

Download: Marnie Stern - "Transformer"

Van Halen have stated in the past that their classic song "Ain't Talkin' About Love" was written originally as a parody of punk's supposed simplicity (perhaps Ed never got around to London Calling?). Now, let's for a minute pretend that EVH had a daughter, who, for one reason or another, was called Marnie Stern. Marnie shares Ed's guitar talent and gift for shred but, like most adolescents, she has a hard time believing in herself. Zen Arcade then changes that. She plays it over and over again, much to chagrin of papa Eddie. But it's an earlier Husker Du song, "Real World", that Marnie takes the strongest liking to. She attempts to write a song that will split the difference between Dad's virtuosity and Husker Du's anthemic, whiplash inducing punk frenzy. "Transformer" is that song. She succeeds beyond her wildest dreams.

Yeah, it's really fucking good.

Grade: A

Emilíana Torrini

Download:Emiliana Torrini - "Me and Armini"

The Icelandic singer-songwriter with an eclectic resume (writing songs with Kylie Minogue, Bill Callahan, singing a song for the Lord of the Rings soundtrack) returns with a track from her upcoming fifth album. The immediate notes of "Me and Armini" strikes one as the songstress attempting to ride the electro reggae-pop coattails of one Lily Allen. They'd be mostly right, but Torrini throws in just enough curveballs (a smoky, jazz-lounge vibe helps, as do a few flourishes of synthesizer) to make things interesting.

Grade: B

I'm From Barcelona

Download: I'm From Barcelona - "Music Killed Me"

Like Broken Social Scene and Grandaddy having a baby, and then having it grow up to be not nearly as interesting as its parents. Still, a lush production atmosphere, Moogs a-plenty, and a creative epilogue help to make "Music Killed Me' get a passing grade.

Grade: B

(Jonathan Graef)

Okkervil River Launches Free EP

Austin-natives Okkervil River are offering a nice holiday present to all who like fun and joy. The OR posted a nine-song EP comprised of covers that were caught live during their relentless touring in 2006 and 2007.

A few definitely cool covers find their way onto the EP, such as Randy Newman's "Simon Smith And The Amazing Dancing Bear" and Joni Mitchell's "The Blonde In The Bleachers."

For more details, here is the track listing for Golden Opportunities Mixtape:

01. "April Anne" (John Phillips)
02. "Simon Smith And The Amazing Dancing Bear" (Randy Newman)
03. "I Want To Know" (Charles F. Olsen/Ed Sanders)
04. "Do What You Gotta Do" (Jimmy Webb)
05. "I Came Here to Say I'm Going Away" (Serge Gainsbourg)
06. "The Blonde In The Bleachers" (Joni Mitchell)
07. "Antarctica Starts Here" (John Cale)
08. "Listening To Otis Redding At Home During Christmas" (Will Sheff)
09. "Solo" (Sandy Denny)

To download the EP, visit www.okkervilriver.com.

(Ian Anderson)

Okkervil River on Daytrotter

Again, Daytrotter delivers a great interview. This time, it is with Okkervil River, read the full piece here as well as listen to the great performance.

(Ian Anderson)

Okkervil River - The Stage Names

Okkervil River
The Stage Names (Jagjaguwar, 2007)
Grade: A-

Download: Okkervil River - "A Girl In Port"
Download: Okkervil River - "You Can't Hold The Hand Of A Rock And Roll Man"

Everyone knows, and is wary of, a person who tries way, way too hard. Most people tell you that the way to obtain success in life is to work your ass off, which is true. However, what is also true is that if you try too hard, you'll come off as desperate and may ultimately alienate the people you're trying to reach.

In trying to paint a vivid picture of a musician's life in cinematic terms (over the course of only nine tracks to boot), songwriter Will Sheff (who was an English major at Macalester College in St. Paul) is risking a lot, if only because a) most people aren't musicians and therefore b) wouldn't necessarily be able to relate to the ups and downs and the loneliness that musicians face on the road.

So far, it would seem that the cards are stacked against Sheff and his band, Okkervil River. However, along with alcohol, there is another social lubricant that does wonders for helping to understand someone to whom you don't necessarily relate: great music. Luckily, Okkervil River's new album, The Stage Names, is filled with it.

Though one might tire of Sheff's vocal dramatics (there's a thin line between being grandiose and just being wailing and melodramatic), there's absolutely no denying the fact that this record is quite simply one great song after another, whether it's the singsongy "Our Life is Not A Movie," the rockin' "Unless It Kicks" or the shoo-be-doo-wop shuffle of "Hand To Take Hold Of." Later on in the album, we get the soft, orchestral lullaby "Savannah Smiles," the heartbreaking "Plus Ones" (which also namechecks ? and The Mysterians) and the epic (in scope, not length) Beach Boys-quoting "John Allyn Smith Smiles."

So while Okkervil River's meta-concept album may strike some as being a bit much (Sheff has the Bright Eyes tendency of being so emotional that it borders on pretension) they'll be singing along with his glorious music, even if they can't relate to the story that Sheff tells.

(Jonathan Graef)

Stream Okkervil River's The Stage Names

Download: Okkervil River - "Unless It Kicks"
Download: Okkervil River - "Hand To Take Hold Of"

The week has started off awfully well for Austin, TX's Okkervil River. First, the band just got a Best Music Nod from Pitchfork Media. Tomorrow, they will of course release the record that was the subject of Pitchfork's praise, The Stage Names.

We'll have a review of The Stage Names up on the site in the next few days, but in the meantime check out a few MP3s at the top of the post. Or, if you want to listen to The Stage Names in its entirety, just check out the band's MySpace Page. There you'll find a stream of the album.

(Jonathan Graef)