Jagjaguwar, 2007

Okkervil River are an Austin based group that swim the same murky, hard to define water as Bright Eyes and Wilco. They deftly incorporate aspects of freak folk, stark country, orchestral pop, and noisy rock under the general “indie” umbrella.

The Stage Names is their fourth full length release and is rich in concept and content. The songs are tied together curiously by a number of overt and obscure references to popular culture. Instead of coming across as contrived or pompous, this serves to force the listener to pay closer attention.

“Savannah Smiles” is a somewhat biographical account of doomed porn star Savannah who died in a car crash in 1994. The song is tender and understated with faux strings and xylophone that lend an unexpected innocence to the subject matter. “Plus Ones” is a brilliant piece of songwriting. Will Sheff weaves several popular songs that were numerically themed ( ex. “99 Luft Balloons”, “Eight Miles High” and “7 Chinese Brothers”) into the structure by cleverly adding one to each. This also comes to bare in the song “John Allyn Smith Sails” which is the strongest composition on the album. Here, Sheff tells the tale through the eyes of American poet John Berryman, who is considered one of the founders of the Confessional school of poetry. The song concludes with a twisted, suicidal send up of the Beach Boys’ classic “Sloop John B.” Each line tweaked just enough to maintain relevance to the subject. The song is darkly humorous and all the more affecting because of it.

The Stage Names is, ultimately, an expertly crafted work of compelling and rich songwriting. The album functions in the same manner as Radiohead’s OK Computer or Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon as a series of thematically tied songs to be enjoyed as a whole.

I would recommend giving it a listen as soon as possible.