This is an album that came out in 2005, released by the band Okkervil River. It is their third studio album.
It was a make or break piece of art, crafted by frontman Will Sheff. The band's first two albums were met with little commercial success and they were desperate for something to break through. At the time of writing, Sheff had become homeless and was clinging on to the hopes of stemming the tide of failure. The band was moments away from breaking apart entirely.
That sentiment is made very clear in the music. The sense of rage, desperation, and loss is pervasive. While often churning under the surface, it often is flung to the forefront, providing a wild catharsis.
This is a man and a band raging against the dying light. They stared the end in the face and came out the other side with a wonderful album and I hope you like it as much as I do.
Unfortunately, and perhaps all too obviously, I don't have a ton to say about this album. From the start, it just didn't really catch me as I know it probably did for you, Tyler, and for lots of other people. I know that Will Sheff is the centerpiece of this band but I couldn't really get into his vocal delivery or style, and the music for me was just pretty standard indie rock fare. There are some parts that I really like (the nice sounding keys towards the middle of For Real) but the rest falls more on the forgettable side. In general, I also liked Black (kinda sounded like a Wilco song).
ReplyDeleteThis is a band I've been hearing about for a while and always meaning to listen to, so I'm glad I did, and I think it's a pretty good album - I just don't really like it.
I felt the same way about this album as I do with most of your picks: I enjoyed it on a surface level, but nothing deeper than that. I rarely will find myself listening to sad music, so a lot of these songs I felt like skipping. I will definitely commend this album for trying not to sound too miserable throughout, but even on the lighter and happier songs the lead singer brought me back into a depression. Those songs were still my favorite, however.For some reason, a lot of this album reminded me of a slower, more mellow version of The Format. I liked that aspect of it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for exposing me this band, at least. I have heard a lot about them, but never had the motivation to listen.
I listened to this from start to finish a couple times but honestly, I just wasn't feeling it. Two tracks stood out to me the most, In a Radio Song and So Come Back, I Am Waiting (this song almost sounded The Antlers-esque to me). I feel like the reason why these songs resonated with me the most is because they felt more raw and his vocals didn't sound as strained. I don't have much to say about the instrumentals, they all sounded the same to me (beyond those two songs) and not much stood out.
ReplyDeleteI had never heard of this band before so thanks for exposing them to me! Sorry I don't have much to say, but I really really do love those two songs, they're really pleasant to listen to.
I think I just need to come out and say that I didn't like this album. I had been struggling to think of things to say for this review because I've been trying too hard to find good things about it. Unfortunately, for my tastes, there isn't much here.
ReplyDeleteSo I'll start with the things I liked: For Real and So Come Back, I Am Waiting. For Real had the energy and hook that was missing from the rest of this album. So Come Back, I Am Waiting was surprisingly enjoyable for me. Most of this album is pretty somber, but this march track seems to do the best with this.
So yeah, the rest of this album is not all that memorable. A lot of tracks feel very samey to me. A big chunk in the center of this album is filled with songs that are slow and headed by a Will Sheff that doesn't go anywhere with his singing.
As Sam said, it's pretty standard indie rock fare with some folk influences. Okkervil River has some good songs, but for the most part they feel like the band that you only go and see because it's your friend's band.