Roky Erickson And Okkervil River

That 13th Floor Elevators frontman Roky Erickson survived his long battle with mental illness to see the primordial psychedelic sound he helped popularize revived by a new generation is miraculous. That he’s also returned to regular gigging suggests some next-level cosmic shit, as Erickson has kept up a string of festival appearances that would exhaust bands half his age and nowhere near as acid-fried. Some of that newfound energy comes borrowed from young collaborators like erudite indie-rockers Okkervil River, who back Erickson on the new True Love Cast Out All Evil, a triumphant return laden with Erickson’s most spiritual and personal material yet. Erickson sounds remarkably confident and optimistic; for all the tumult he's endured in his life, he's clearly happy to be living it.

Updated 05/12/2010