|
wednesday, january 07, 2009,
6:29 am saving the world from bad music since last wednesday. WEDNESDAY | ARCHIVE | PEP SQUAD | MAILING LIST | GEAR | REQUEST LINE | ROCK DOC | CONNECT |
||
|
austin based okkervil river formed
back in january 1999 and are named after
a short story written
by short story by leo tolstoy's great-grand-niece tatyana tolstaya. the
story "follows the
plight of a middle-aged bureaucrat and his obsession with an little known singer. when the vocalist turns out to be a timeworn shell of her former self, the story
becomes a meditation on how art stands apart from those who create it." the band is as unconventional as their obscure name would suggest. will sheff (vocals, songwriting and guitar) and the the rest of okkervil river combine folk and alternative rock to create an inspired sound with cryptically dark lyrics and a highly developed, multilayered instrumental organization. music critic alison steward was quoted as saying "it's like deciphering a puzzle when you listen to their lyrics, those lyrics are filled with macabre imagery and menacing violence, but Sheff maintains a sense of humor about it." as serious as their music may seem, will was quoted as saying that ""there's a prejudice these days where people think that in order to be serious, you have to be all dark and brooding and heavy, and i was thinking, 'that's not true; you can be serious and be playful and fun,' and joy is as much of an important emotion as pain and sorrow, and far more desirable." their most recent release set out to do just that. the band dropped their fifth studio l.p., the stand ins september 09, 2008 as the sequel to their fourth album, the stage names, released august 07, 2007. click here to listen to a september 30, 2007 gig recorded by npr at the rock and roll hotel. click here, here and here to listen to in-studio interviews/sets recorded by wxpn for world café on october 30, 2008, november 12, 2007 august 20, 2007. click here to listen to an interview and performance recorded by austin's kut 90.5 december 27 2007. click here for a march 16, 2007 sxsw session recorded by kexp. finally, click here for a september 02, 2007 all things considered interview or here for a january 08, 2006 weekend edition profile. don't forget, the album cover image always links to sample songs and the band's image to their website. okkervil river has a few dates scheduled. check here to see if they are coming to your town. as always, please buy this album from your local independent music store by people who know and love music and not from retailers like wal-mart (soulless, globally-homogenizing, community-killers) or i-tunes (albums should be listened to as an entire composition with album cover and liner notes in hand). incidentally, these two companies sell more music than any other retailer in the united states. that my friend, bites. okkervil river rocks. if you agree, please spread the word (about the band and this site). don't worry if you missed the secret machines review from last week: here it is. |
|
|
