Okkervil River are finally back with a proper full release, I am Very Far, which marks
a departure from the concept album format of 'The Stand Ins' and 'The Stage Names'.
The bands chief song writer, Will Sheff, has taken a more of a wall of sound approach
to this recording, embracing styles of experimental music and mixing it with his bands
indie/folk stylings. In fact this album features 34 different musicians playing
everything from tympani, synthesisers, bassoons, tape decks and samples!
When I first listened to the record I got a similar impression to what I got with
their last album, 'The Stand Ins' and I thought the two sounded very similar. Then I
whacked on my headphones and discovered that this is a very different entity with the
mentioned walls of sound really hitting you in the face and straight off the bat you
can tell the record is very well produced and recorded. This is evident as the bands
maestro Will Sheff also taking the producers chair as well as everything else under
the sun on this record.
'The Valley' starts off the record and in typical Okkervil River fashion it is an
attention grabbing number. Unlike previous starters like 'Lost Coastlines' and 'Our
Live is a Movie or Maybe' 'The Valley' is a lot more moodier and has more of a lyrical
darkness to it backed up with a wall of thundering drums. Following on, 'Piratess'
starts with an Ariel Pink'ish bass line and Will delivers a vocal line reminiscent of
Robert Smith. It is a song that is a definite departure from most of Okkervil River
but in saying that, it has a lot of elements within it that are trademark Okkervil.
'Rider' sounds like The Stage Names Okkervil River with a hint of stadium rock (ala
Queen) grand dour.. While following on from that is 'Last Day of the Survivor' which
has a very second half of The Stage Names feel to it. 'White Shadow Waltz' sounds like
it wouldn't be out of place on Arcade Fire's latest offering (who came up with the
sound first is debateable). White Shadow and the next track 'We Need a Myth' are in my
opinion some of the lowlights on this album. While 'We Need a Myth' starts out very
interesting with a string section that screams Elizabethan revenge drama it just sort
of fizzles out into a song that, while is still better than most 'indie' music getting
around today, it is however, below calibre with the rest of the album. In my opinion
this sort of dilemma has been apparent on most Okkervil releases with the good songs
being so freaking good that it makes some of the tracks on the respective albums sound
like filler in between the classics.
'Mermaid' is the best work they have done, as simple as that! I first heard this song
when it was released as a free download before the album's release and it still
remains the best thing on here. It has an almost 'Stairway to Heaven' quality to it,
as if Led Zeppelin weren't rockstars and instead were fisherman. It has a continual
rise to it till its cinematic closure. Will's vocals are top notch on this song from
the almost whispering approach at the beginning to his triumphant chorus delivery.
There is nothing not to like about this song and it is more than likely going to be my
favourite song of the year.
A bit of nerdy music trivia: the Australian release of the album includes Mermaid
while the American release does not! The American release includes a track called
'Hanging From a Hit' which is not included on the Australian edition. But when using
the Australian version digitally (mainly with itunes) Mermaid is incorrectly listed as
'Hanging from a Hit' on the albums track listing… A little Australian anomaly there.
{Damn if only I were into comics instead of music… I would be Julian Casablancas!})
'Show Yourself' is a ballad in a number of ways and then turns into a Grizzly Bear
eseque ending (another band that well, can cite Okkervil as a reference). 'Your Past
Life as a Blast' borderlines onto the same territory of We Need a Myth but then turns
into a nice catchy little pop song!
'Wake and be Fine' is the shortest track on the record but is a quick burst of energy
and catchy pop hooks. Will offers a near spitting vocal delivery until the chorus
where he allows the listener to breathe. The song features some tag team guitar and
piano riffs and shows a large amount of emotion with the song at points deterring into
minor key territory and the strings becoming the output of the songs emotion. For the
shortest song on the record they have crammed a lot in here. Closer, the 6min epic
'The Rise' begins with Will duetting in a call and response fashion with himself over
some keys and strings as the song begins in a almost as a happy ballad. As the song
goes on though, lush soundscapes appear and the song goes out with a wall of sound as
if Sigur Ros were folk. It is up there with more of the experimental work that the
band has done and it is a perfect finisher for the album.
'I am very Far' as a self entity away from the bands famous concept releases,
Definitely works. It is a darker affair then 'Black Sheep Boy' yet still retains a lot
of the more pop elements that littered 'The Stand Ins. It has elements of
experimentation and a number of moments of cinematic grandeur. It is an ambitious
record that also shows growth in Will's songwriting and lyrical content. While he
seems to be still infatuated with life as a working musician which can be heard in
songs on this record such as "The Valley' he also has opened up with a more personal
approach in his lyrics. The stories he tells on this record can be comparable to other
great lyricists of this genre such as The Mountain Goats famous pen man, John
Darnielle.
Just as good if not better than the bands past legacy. It will be interesting to see
the songs off this album in a live environment! (I am tipping a visit for Meredith
perhaps?)
If you disregard all of this, buy Mermaid and you will then buy the album. It makes me
feel funny inside - haha.
8.5/10
No comments:
Post a Comment