Search The Line of Best Fit
Search The Line of Best Fit

""

14 August 2007, 08:47 Written by
(Albums)
Email

Okkervil River’s follow-up to 2005′s brilliant Black Sheep Boy has undoubtedly been one of the most anticipated indie releases of this year. While their entire back catalogue is certainly worthwhile, it was BSB that made the indie world really sit up and take notice – which begs the question: Is Okkervil River up to the Herculean task of building upon the BSB phenomenon?

Will Sheff is a master not only of unfurling stories within his songs, but going the next step to unfurl stories within entire albums. As BSB was built conceptually around the cover of Tim Hardin’s song of the same name, The Stage Names plays out as a (semi-)autobiographical journey through the life of a Rock And Roll Man, touching upon subjects such as movies vs. life, realities of the road, unfaithfulness, the precarious nature of show business, and failed (though ultimately successful) suicide. While each track has more than your average lyrical merit, there are two major standouts: Plus Ones – in which Sheff takes several popular songs having numerical titles and simply adds “1″ to create a love song of sorts, and John Allyn Smith Sails – a biographical tale of poet John Berryman. Perhaps most astounding about this final track is the way Sheff manages to get away with a Beach Boys tribute that could have been disastrous, but instead wraps the song up beautifully.

Sheff’s clever lyrics are no doubt the most notable feature on any Okkervil River album, but even so one would be remiss to overlook the many other layers that contribute to the success of this album. Take the crescendoing frenzy of Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe, the pure and unabashed rock n’ roll of Unless It’s Kicks, the heartbreak of Savannah Smiles or the unpredictable bounce of You Can’t Hold The Hand Of A Rock And Roll Man – throw in some horns, strings and heaps of percussion and you got yourself one stunning album. Moreover there are Will Sheff’s vocals themselves – it’s no big secret among indie music fans that his voice, while extraordinarily unique, is not the best in the world, at least in the classic sense. But with The Stage Names Sheff has truly taken his vocals to a new level and has never sounded better.

Though the subject matter of The Stage Names may seem a bit dismal, the overall feel of this record is vastly more upbeat than BSB. Hardly content to rest on the acclaim of BSB, Sheff and co. have proved emphatically that they are a band perhaps unwilling to sit still and most definitely evolving. I’d never have thought it possible, but in time this album may very well prove itself stronger than Black Sheep Boy.
92%

Links
Okkervil River [official site] [myspace]
mp3:> Okkervil River: Our Life Is Not A Movie or Maybe
[From The Stage Names; out now on Jagjaguwar]

Share article
Email

Get the Best Fit take on the week in music direct to your inbox every Friday

Read next