CD-Charts Position 1
Average Rating:

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The Stand Ins

by: Okkervil River

Release Date October 20, 2008
The 'Dylan Phase' refers to a statement a friend once made in regards to Bob Dylan's 1965-1967 phase, when everything he released, wheather on any of his albums or bootleg recordings, seemed to resonate with such greatness and importance as to reduce everything else to a mere substitute.

This is how I now feel Okkervil River are currently enjoying. With each release they seem to edge closer to a greatness that many aspire to but rarely claim. 'The Stage Names' was one of 2007's best records and this album just proves the vast amount of songwriting and playing talent that the band were creating around the time.

Songs such as 'Lost Coastline' and 'Bruce Wayne Campbell.......' would have perfectly slotted onto the parent ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 2
Average Rating:

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The Stage Names

by: Okkervil River

Release Date October 01, 2007
I had this album on my list of reccommendations for ages but was initially put off by the very strange name and weird album artwork - well dont be!

I thought it would be some strange avant garde self indulgent material by a crazy acid tripping hippie....

How wrong I could be! I have had this album under a week and i just cant get enough of it - it is almost flawless throughout! its early days yet but i think this is going to make it into my top 5 albums ever. a big call and its companions are albums which i have known and loved for ages, so this may a heat of the moment thing but it is the best thing i have heard in a long long time.

For those of you puzzled by the name and cover - this is actually Indie Rock ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 3
Average Rating:

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Black Sheep Boy [Definitive Edition]

by: Okkervil River

Release Date March 24, 2008
First let me say that if I'd bought the standard edition of this record then it's possible the charm of this band would have passed me by. The main Black Sheep Boy record is a good record, but would probably have taken more listens than I'd have given it were it not for the 'appendix' as the second disc is known.

Where the main album is a grower, the appendix gives an immediate hit, beautiful songs, beautifully structured. The main album is slower, taking more effort to get into and is in my opinion a little staid and straight by comparison.

My advice is to purchase, get into the appendix first and then go to the main record itself. The main record is good, it just doesn't have the same initial pull.

CD-Charts Position 4
Average Rating:

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Don't Fall in Love With Everyone You See

by: Okkervil River

Release Date February 11, 2002
Okkervil River walk a postmodern tightrope of ironic, yet sincere, folk music. They've been called alt-country (and half a dozen other silly subgenres, like avant-folk), and that's as good a name as any other, but doesn't really do them justice. Despite the sense of a slightly knowing smirk behind some of the tried-and-tested themes of the album (the general subject matter is heartbreak and abandonment), it's impossible not to be drawn in by Will Robinson Sheff's heartfelt singing. The music is largely flawless, and skips nicely between the livelier songs and the more melancholic ones. Though there is the odd moment where a track can drag a little, such as Bad Days, any problems are redeemed by the wonderful poetry of the lyrics.

So, in short, this album ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 5
Average Rating:

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Down the River of Golden Dreams

by: Okkervil River

Release Date September 15, 2003
Beautiful lyricism, great emotional singing and lovely melodies. No filler, only great tracks. Really a truely amazing record. Flawless.
(There's just no need for more words)
Go check it, give it a few listens and you'll love it. I see the other 2 reviewers have already praised this, so I'll just say, they're right.

CD-Charts Position 6
Average Rating:

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Black Sheep Boy Appendix

by: Okkervil River

Release Date November 10, 2008
Beautiful lyricism, great emotional singing and lovely melodies. No filler, only great tracks. Really a truely amazing record. Flawless.
(There's just no need for more words)
Go check it, give it a few listens and you'll love it. I see the other 2 reviewers have already praised this, so I'll just say, they're right.

CD-Charts Position 7
Average Rating:

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Overboard & Down

by: Okkervil River

Release Date
The single taken from the Black sheep boy album.

The single itself is a wonderfully haunting edgy number pinned down by subtle guitar picks and strums - piercing electric cathcy leads between chorus and verse and emotive honest vocals.

The lyrics revolve around the modern perception and confusion of what reality is now people have so much thrown at them from modern culture

Will Sheff (the singer and writer) questions what is real in life and how does he find out - we then hear of violent visions of knives, guns and car wrekcs as he tries to make sense of a world that allows people to make false realities through TV, computer games and their own personal psyche.

as it closes he sings
-"There's nothing quite like the blinding ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 8
Average Rating:

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Sleep and Wake Up Songs

by: Okkervil River

Release Date November 08, 2004
The single taken from the Black sheep boy album.

The single itself is a wonderfully haunting edgy number pinned down by subtle guitar picks and strums - piercing electric cathcy leads between chorus and verse and emotive honest vocals.

The lyrics revolve around the modern perception and confusion of what reality is now people have so much thrown at them from modern culture

Will Sheff (the singer and writer) questions what is real in life and how does he find out - we then hear of violent visions of knives, guns and car wrekcs as he tries to make sense of a world that allows people to make false realities through TV, computer games and their own personal psyche.

as it closes he sings
-"There's nothing quite like the blinding ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 9
Average Rating:

.

The Stand Ins [VINYL]

by: Okkervil River

Release Date October 20, 2008
The 'Dylan Phase' refers to a statement a friend once made in regards to Bob Dylan's 1965-1967 phase, when everything he released, wheather on any of his albums or bootleg recordings, seemed to resonate with such greatness and importance as to reduce everything else to a mere substitute.

This is how I now feel Okkervil River are currently enjoying. With each release they seem to edge closer to a greatness that many aspire to but rarely claim. 'The Stage Names' was one of 2007's best records and this album just proves the vast amount of songwriting and playing talent that the band were creating around the time.

Songs such as 'Lost Coastline' and 'Bruce Wayne Campbell.......' would have perfectly slotted onto the parent album, but at the same time neither would ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 10
Average Rating:

.

The Stage Names [VINYL]

by: Okkervil River

Release Date October 01, 2007
I had this album on my list of reccommendations for ages but was initially put off by the very strange name and weird album artwork - well dont be!

I thought it would be some strange avant garde self indulgent material by a crazy acid tripping hippie....

How wrong I could be! I have had this album under a week and i just cant get enough of it - it is almost flawless throughout! its early days yet but i think this is going to make it into my top 5 albums ever. a big call and its companions are albums which i have known and loved for ages, so this may a heat of the moment thing but it is the best thing i have heard in a long long time.

For those of you puzzled by the name and cover - this is actually Indie Rock - and quite accessible too. the band is centred ... Read More: