Okkervil River has almost always been better than most, giving a more serious take on the genre based on the band’s actual musicality and piercing self-awareness other teary-eyed balladeers lack.
Now, the point is moot. After five albums in that similar singer-songwriter style, Okkervil River has made its first big stylistic departure.
Loud enough for the grandstands, I Am Very Far balances all things old and new for the band. It is the group’s first album since the dual showbiz-inspired epics The Stage Names and The Stand-Ins, and it is a bombastic and hard-edged affair.
The first three tracks quickly bleed into each other while the band generally takes on a much denser sound. Lost in the shift is a lot of the falsetto prettiness of older songs “Black Sheep Boy” and “Savannah Smiles.”
Even while picking up an affinity for strings, singer Will Sheff seems to have lost most of his pretensions in favor of a more straightforward approach. Every song is more direct — if not faster — than anything the band has done.
Sheff and his revolving cast of musicians have been nothing if not precise with their instruments. The band’s knack for arrangements is still intact. “Your Past Life as a Blast” is an especially creative take with an almost afro-pop rhythm and backing vocal section.
That sound, while effectively ending Sheff’s folk balladry for the time being, finds new spaces throughout the album. “Your Past Life as a Blast” is a good example of the balance between Okkervil River old and new. The theme is effectively summed up in the title, a recollection of the band’s past ideas.
It used to be that Sheff’s voice got a lot of space for those take-it-or-leave-it suspensions of his voice crying over his acoustic guitar. But they still bear the earnestness that has marked the band’s music since “Okkervil River Song.”
The real trade-off is that, lyrically, the songs are more vague. The ability to fall into Sheff’s storytelling on first listen is gone. Lyrics get lost in the tom-fueled bombast of “Rider,” and even on slower takes such as “Lay of the Last Survivor,” the story gets lost about a third of the way in.
For what can be heard, the lyrics revolve around similar themes — fakery, tiredness, rock music — but the presentation has a nastier edge.
Mostly though, Sheff seems to be done with his old ways after 12 years at the helm of Okkervil River. It can be bittersweet — more bitter when the album gets waylaid in the mire of its brand new arena sound.
Beyond minor detractions, though, I Am Very Far needed to happen. Okkervil River has written a lot of music to sing to yourself on Saturday nights and not much to sing to a crowd. Throughout the band’s career, there has been a sense of constant progression with each new album. The trend continues with this new one.
RATING: 4 stars out of 5
waldo@umdbk.com
