Okkervil River
The Stage Names
Jagjaguwar (2007)
It's a rare commodity to find a record that just seems to get it right. I mean really get it. The kind of disc that echoes your little world, your thoughts and your feelings, back to you in lines that you just wish you had the talent to write yourself. The kind of album that has you walking the long … Read more
Okkervil River
The Stand Ins
Jagjaguwar (2008)
"But there's this idea that nobody can tell you if something is good or not, you have to decide whether you think it's good. And nobody is more of an authority than anyone else." The quote above is part of a response singer Will Sheff said when interviewed about his then forthcoming record The Stage Names. The interviewer had asked … Read more
Okkervil River
The Stand Ins
Jagjaguwar (2008)
I have this vaguely unpleasant sensation lately when listening to The Stand Ins that Okkervil River's Will Sheff (guitar and vocals) is peering in the windows at me. I'm probably not alone in this, though. Throughout The Stand Ins, universal themes are rendered in careful fragments, and anchored with lyrical details so seemingly specific that they're almost biographical. Sure, Okkervil … Read more
