Okkervil River: The Stage Names

Eh, I was going to post Okkervil River's new album "The Stand-ins", but since I was relatively disappointed by it I won't waste your time. Plus, there are like 50 blogs that already posted it... and I want to be different. (Forgive me while indulge in a longwinded criticism of the band regarding their new album.) The main fault I have with Okkervil River is that they always try to make "concept" albums. And while most of the time this is a good thing, for them this can present a challenge with material. They almost always seem to be WAYYYY to literal with their relation to the concept on each album, making the feel of some songs more contrived than cohesive (I'm specifically referring to their newest album). For example OK Computer, while a concept album (arguably one of the best), had an ambiguity to its lyrics and a universality that transcended their exploration of their concept. Every song wasn't like "Robots bad, humans good." If it was it would've been ... well... like a Okkervil River album. Haha... wow... that sounded harsh. I'm hyper-critical today okay? That being said, this album is probably the best concept album a band like Okkervil River could make. Next would probably be "Black Sheep Boy" which I also enjoyed quite a bit. Don't be fooled by my criticism of the band in general, because they are definitely a good band, and this is definitely a good album. In fact it is DEFINITELY one of 2007's best. Definitely.... Someone get me a thesaurus. I guess the best way to describe the band is like a guilty pleasure. Sort of... like a Jason Statham movie. You know the movie has its flaws...the plot is weak, the dialogue can be corny... but for some reason you freakin enjoy the shit out of yourself. And like a Statham movie, they once and a while make a pretty awesome movie that is also intellectually viable... this is one of those instances.




The Stage Names