Artist Okkervil River

Alexandra Valenti

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Okkervil River

Okkervil River’s jump in popularity—capped by the one-two chamber-folk punch of The Stage Names and The Stand-Ins—was one of the most pleasant surprises of the late ’00s. That broadened appeal had something to do with the band’s inordinately wise balance of excitement and nuance, especially when it came to Will Sheff and band’s live heart-on-sleeve histrionics. No one pulls of dramatic indie-rock quite like Sheff, and his verbose, impressionistic compositions play more like overheated short stories than mere songs. The new I Am Very Far is far more oblique than past Okkervil confessionals, but it’s just as multifaceted, uncompromising, and bruised with hard-won sincerity.

Updated 09/07/2011