I don't know how I lasted nearly 28 years without ever having heard Okkervil River, who've been around for ages, and certainly for most of my music-consuming career. But I was completely oblivious to their existence until a couple of weeks ago when an acquaintance was kind enough to bring them to my attention. I must send said acquaintance a thank you card. Because this album is one of my favourite unexpected finds of the year.
This album has become a bit of a travel staple - I'm writing this from the South of Mexico, about to take the boat to Belize. One of the things I love about this kind of travel is the clash of the modern and the traditional - this is the only place in the world I have ever seen horses hitched to the main power station. The pace of life is gentle.
Okkervil River are perfect for the road: light-hearted but interesting; a little bit folk, a little bit Americana, sometimes bluesy, but overwhelmingly that classic indie-rock sound that we heard so much of in the late 2000s.
This album in particular is just really good. I haven't had a chance to fully digest their other material but on first listen their earlier stuff sounds a bit dreary and their most recent album takes the synth thing too far... so this particular album looks increasingly like the sweet spot in the development of their sound. I still can't quite put my finger on who they sound like - the vocals are, I have to admit, reminiscent of the Killers. The music is not. Jangly guitars, with the occasional rockabilly drumbeat thrown in for good measure, sparing use of keys and horns, and trickles of beautifully-positioned lap steel. I get flashes of a Modest Mouse-type sound, and sometimes of Franz Ferdinand, but what I love about this album is that I just can't quite nail it. It's interesting.
A great album for the road. Or the dirt track. Or, like, the open sea.
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