Okkervil River - The Stage Names (Album)
» Okkervil River announce Australian tour - February 17, 2009
» St Jeromes Laneway Festival - Reiby Place, NSW - March 2, 2008
» Laneway Festival 2008 - Fowlers Live, SA - February 23, 2008
» Okkervil River - Rosemount Hotel, The, WA - September 10, 2006
» Okkervil River at The East Brunswick Club - East Brunswick Club Hotel, Vic - September 8, 2006
This new release from Texas band Okkervil River is awesome. Each song brings into its own as a massive Indie ballad that ascends and makes you want it to never end. All the songs are so feel good that speak to you of the memories of summer, living on a pocket of air and the carelessness and innocence of youth.
The songs are very simple but layer a lot of good sounds and it seems like they use anything they can get their hands on to add to the depth to their songs. But this is used in a great fun way rather than proggy, bogged down or excessive.
The vocals have changed a bit since some of their earlier stuff that I have heard, they seem to be going down the Bright Eyes trail of vocals, but this in not necessarily a bad thing, but it seems a little overdone in some songs, but I don’t want you to be turned off this CD in any way.
The title track is an awesome song and I can see why they chose it as the title track, it is a lot slower than the others and more acoustic. But the lyrics are very complex and insightful.
I really enjoyed listening to the new CD by Okkervil River, it is not one of those CD’s you could listen to over and over again but it is definitely a special occasion CD. When you really need a pick me up to help you get back on track and see all the positive things in life. Okkervil River sounds a lot different to the music coming out of Texas at the moment. They sound like a very mature band that knows a lot about musical composition and melody. Their song depth amazes me and I love the choir that can be found in some of the tracks, as well as the different samples.
This CD is the soundtrack to my life at the moment, just a reminder of casual Friday nights surrounded by my closest friends. Sitting around laughing and talking each other’s ears off with a giant picnic of food in front of us, when time stands still is when great music, great food and great friends meet at the same time.
I know that when I listen to this album in 10 years time it will still unearth these great memories of time gone by, bringing them fresh in my mind. This album evokes nothing but the sweetest thoughts. I would recommend this CD to any indie fan of the likes of Bright Eyes and Beck etc.
