Disco de Okkervil River: “Stage Names [Deluxe]”

One of the great joys of being a music fan is being able to hear the progression of a band or artist. Many bands continually redefine their sounds. Some get progressively worse, others better. Okkervil River is a band that consistently improves. With each album that they put out, this great band from New Hampshire via Austin strengthens their sound and finds new ways to impress their audience. Like their previous releases, "The Stage Names" is influenced by several genres without fully committing to a single style. Sometimes folky, sometimes rocky, sometimes emo, sometimes poppy; Okkervil River is always worth listening too!

Will Sheff's emotionally wrought wails and painfully insightful lyrics begin the album off on "Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe." The song is about how everyday life is nowhere as exciting (or contrived) as a major movie, yet the song itself is more exciting than most. You can almost imagine the band playing this song live, flailing their bodies about with all the energy that they can muster. "Unless It Kicks" keeps the energy from the opening track, but channels it into a more traditional rock sound. It continually builds throughout, before finally climaxing at around 3:35 with the band rocking out as hard as they ever do!

Though the music itself is brilliant throughout "The Stage Names," it is Will Sheff's songwriting skills that have impressed me most about the album. Every song gives the impression that Sheff spent hours slaving over each song, writing intricate stories and reflections. Take, for example, the clever, yet brilliant, "Plus Ones" in which Sheff weaves the titles of songs with numbers into the lyrics (adding 1 to the original). When he sings "No one wants to hear about your 97th tear" it's a direct reference to the classic song "96 tears" by ? and the Mysterians. When he sings "51st way to leave your lover, admittedly it doesn't seem to be as gentle or as clean as all the others," he's referencing "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" by Paul Simon. While it's impressive that he could even weave so many song titles into the lyrics, it's even more impressive that the song itself is more than just a catchy gimmick but an extremely well-written piece of music.

Though "The Stage Names" is an absolute blast to listen to when the band is playing fast, energetic songs, it's when they calm things down that Okkervil River truly shines. On the stunning, "A Girl In Port," Sheff sings "These several years out on the sea made me empty, poor, and clear...pour yourself into me" over a shamelessly country arrangement. Soon after the song climaxes with a full brass section and guitar solo that is just as beautiful as it is entertaining. The title track, cleverly titled "Title Track," features minimal instrumentation from the band and only utilizes their talents when it's absolutely necessary. Sheff sings over the ambient guitars, saying, "The break dancers all broken down in their beds, are now intreveniously fed from a bag hanging over their heads." Again, his lyricism is unparalleled here, and it's especially apparent due to the lack of distraction from the rest of the band. The album wraps up with "John Allyn Smith Sails," in which Sheff asserts, "This is the worst trip I've ever been on" before following it with "I wanna go home." Nice.

In the end, "The Stage Names" is yet another fantastic album from Okkervil River. I had my doubts that the band would be able to top 2005's "Black Sheep Boy," but I can say with no doubt that this one tops it in almost every way. It's energetic moments are more powerful, and it's soft, reflective songs are more poignant. Simply put, "The Stage Names" is Okkervil River's best album to date and much more accessible than their previous releases. I would've liked for the album to be a song or two longer, but I'm still thrilled with what is presented here. If you're a fan of Okkervil River (which you totally should be), you absolutely need to hear "The Stage Names!" It will not be easily forgotten.

Recommended for fans of Okkervil River, The Honorary Title, and Two Gallants.

Key Tracks:

1. "Our Life Is Not a Movie Or Maybe"

2. "Unless It Kicks"

3. "Plus Ones"

4. "A Girl In Port"

5. "Title Track"

8 out of 10 Stars

I know that these guys were one of the indie darlings in 2007 but I didn't get into this album until 2008. However, I am glad that I did. The album is a great mix of songs of varying tempos, and the 9 songs on it feel like just the right amount.

The first two songs are really great up-tempo numbers, with the second song, Unless Its Kicks, the real highlight of the album. The lyrics are fantastic, with each song telling a unique story and repetitive lyrics and choruses typically avoided. The writing is very clever this way as it really sounds more like stories rather than the typical verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus routine.

The slower songs are great as well. Savannah Smiles is a song about reading his daughter's diary and lamenting the innocence lost with youth. It seems like a wise-beyond-one's-years type of song as I'm assuming that the author isn't actually old enough to have the teenage (or older) daughter he describes in the song.

Plus Ones is a clever song that took me a few listens to realize what was going on. They've cleverly woven songs from the 70s onward into this song's lyrics. Essentially, songs such as 99 Luftballoons, 7 Chinese Brothers, 50 Ways to Leave your Lover, and others, get the "plus one" treatment. Very clever the way it was turned into a story.

Title Track is the only dud as I see it on the album. There are a couple of minor drawbacks. While I'm not concerned about foul language, there were just a couple of instances throughout the album that prevent me from playing it when the kids are around, which is a shame because there's so much to get out of the album otherwise. When they're just a little bit older and I don't care what they hear I'll certainly play it around them, then.

The album ends with John Allyn Smith Sails which re-works the Beach Boys' Sloop John B in a very energetic way and makes for a great ending to a great album.

This is the first album I've had the pleasure of listeneing to by Okkervil River and i have to say it makes everything else I have been listening to sound like crap. My only problem is how short it is. I will soon be buying all of their other cd's and you should to.

This album is incredible like all of their other albums, maybe the best. Check out Unless It's Kicks and A Girl In Port. Will Sheff spins complex and beautiful stories better than just about anyone.

This is one of my all time favourite albums and so I felt I had to write a review. Will Sheff and co not only leads, writes the songs but does the art too and the cover from this actually matches `The Stand Ins'.

Where to begin, this was the first album in a long while that I felt did not have a single bad track on it, although they are all stand out tracks, my least fave is `Savannah Smiles' but it is still miles better than most contemporary work.

The rest of the album is genius from start to finish, from the rocky up beat `Unless it's kicks' to the ballad beauty of live favourite -`Girl in Port'. All of the songs tell a tale that is beautifully constructed and often with poetic imagery that belies the youth of Mr Sheff. The music is excellent with every track having its own identity and yet a cohesive binding giving this album a clear personality. A strength mentioned elsewhere that while Sheff and Co always keep one foot placed firmly in Americana, they seem to stamp an identity on everything they do.

If I had to take only two records to live on a desert island this would be one of them, but I am still working on number two, but you would not go far wrong with another Okkervil classic - `Down the river of golden dreams'