Okkervil River - The Stage Names Review

Every time one of my favorite bands is about to release a new album, I’m gripped by a strange sense of anxiety: What if I don’t like it? It was precisely this anxiousness I felt when Okkervil River’s new release arrived at my house. Their last album, the brilliantly haunting Black Sheep Boy, is one of my favorite records of all time; asking for another grand slam from them felt greedy and audacious....full text Despite biopics like Walk the Line and Ray, musicians' lives don't naturally translate to compelling movies. The relentless repetition of touring, the fleeting nature of creativity, the mundane conflicts between bandmates and hangers-on-- none of it seems all that visually or narratively interesting....full text 2005's Black Sheep Boy was an important record for Austin band Okkervil River in that it was the album that got them noticed, at least on a much larger scale than its two predecessors. But Black Sheep Boy was also important because it was the band's best release to date; a mastery of their sound and a gorgeous balance between multiple styles of song that all contributed to the album as a whole, not to mention the genius of singer/songwriter Will Sheff and his anxious, explosive vocal delivery. The only really puzzling thing about the modest success of Black Sheep Boy is that it took until album three for Okkervil River to be discovered in a significant way....full text