[stream] Okkervil River // White Shadow Waltz

Every year there will a few great records that sneak by. Is it because they don’t receive the proper promotional attention from their label? Is it because certain websites award them a lukewarm decimal number? Or, is it merely because there were to many big releases splitting attention that particular week? When I listened to Okkervil River’s 2011 LP, I couldn’t help but wonder why I wasn’t hearing more about it. Not only has the Austin based folk-rock outfit made a first rate album, they have radically reinvented their sound.

In their first decade of existence, Okkervil River has underwent a consistent, gradual evolution. It’s hard to imagine that any listener who had enjoyed any of their last three records: Black Sheep Boy, The Stage Names, and The Stand-Ins didn’t love the complete set. After that critically acclaimed, indie-famous trilogy of records it was easy to assume that one knew what to expect when their most recent album, I Am Very Far, was released earlier this year. I personally was guilty of putting off the record, thinking that it would be an enjoyable but predictable experience. I was wrong. This is a far harder rocking affair, with a copious amount of strings, and dramatic production touches.

No song on the record better illustrates this than the epic “White Shadow Waltz.” Will Sheff has always been adept at creating simple, emotionally manipulative melodies to tell his dark tales of solitude and love lost. Now the emotive tune is surrounded by a massive wall of sound that could have been the production work of Phil Spector, if he wasn’t currently in jail. The song is developed through layers of guitar, piano and strings, accented with judiciously distributed but energetic drum work.

Okkervil River in the past has conjured up mental images of quietly drinking whiskey alone in a dark room, but “White Shadow Waltz” is the music of pounding beers in a crowded club, perhaps pumping your fist joyously towards the band on stage.  Those of you located in Western New York will have the chance to do just that later this month when Okkervil river visits the Club at Water Street. The show comes to Rochester on September 24, and will also feature opener and former blog feature artist Wye Oak. To help get you ready, the latest single from I Am Very Far, entitled “Your Past Life is a Blast” is also provided for download.

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Okkervil River // White Shadow Waltz

Okkervil River // Your Past Life as a Blast [mp3] from I Am Very Far

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