Record of the Month

Okkervil River: Stage Names

It is with a reluctant and heavy heart that I sit down to write this record review, because this band has in the past proven to me that they can, in fact, suck balls. I saw them open for the Decemberists in their hometown of Austin TX and They. Were. Terrible. I hated everything about their act, they were trying too hard, they were nervous and they seemed to all have a seriously bad case of athlete’s foot (as evidenced by their incessant hoping up and down on stage). People told me not to judge them based on that one experience, but I did and I never gave them a second thought. This proved to be my mistake since this new album, Stage Names, is completely awesome.
I totally didn’t want to listen to the record, my pride wouldn’t allow it. That however did not stop the constant stream of good things I was hearing about this album; thus I capitulated and listened to it. I am so glad I did and it has completely removed any ill preconceived notions I had about Okkervil River.
The key to this record is the energy and the power that they deliver in each song. The lyrics are intricate and tell a story that in some cases like John Allyn Smith Sails are hilariously morose and depressing. In the aforementioned tune the lead character tries (unsuccessfully) to kill himself and he is tortured by the fact that he is such a failure at life that he fucked up ending it. The end of the song turns the chorus of the Beach Boys classis Sloop John B into a perverse suicide testimonial. Its so tragic its funny but in a really sad way. Savannah Smiles is about a man reading his daughters diary and being slightly bothered by it but musing on the little girls mistakes. But the songs are delivered like the singer actually gives a fuck. So many records these days come out and the band is so concerned with being badass that they forget to feel the song. It’s a palpable absence, and an audience can make a very quick judgment on the bands talents based on how much they are perceived to care about there craft. It becomes a question of whether you are listening to music as art or music as money making scheme; the former is always far superior to the latter. Okkervil River is feeling these songs with the listener as they are told. They are a vehicle for these stories and they spin their yarns with a massively convincing, and gratifying gravitas.
This record is also given a major boost in that it is remarkably accessible. Plus Ones is one of the catchiest songs I have heard in last 3 years and man you just want to sit and listen to it over and over, but you don’t because the next track is so good that you need to absorb it first before you can get seconds on any of the previous songs. The songs are brilliantly crafted and grab you right away and then the complicated energy of the lyrics hits you like a punch in the teeth; its grating at first, but it totally works and fits with the slowed down countryish rockish folkish bluesy drawl of the record. So Okkervil River have made a hypocritical asshole of me, but I couldn’t be happier because in return I get to listen to this record and I can stand to eat some crow for that.
Colin Sherrod 8/13/07