- Okkervil River - I Am Very Far (Jagjaguwar) Rating: 6 (out of 10)
I Am Very Far is indeed far from where Okkervil River left off in The Stand Ins, their last studio album in 2008.
Long-time fans of the band are in for a bit of a shock right from the moment they hit play, where the new fuller, denser, more rock-'n'-roll tone pours through speakers all at once in "The Valley."
There are several songs that stand out, such as "Hanging From a Hit," in which lead-singer Will Sheff details an affair, writing "I lie back on my pillow and ask what her husband is like." Also notable, "The Rise," closes out the album by slowly and beautifully breaking apart at the seams.
Sheff's morose prose is on full display, but is set free without having to work with the elaborate themed constraints he developed for previous albums. Because of that, each song is allowed to be unique, more individual, though at times the band takes that too far, leaving nothing to hold them together as an album.
In fact, while individual songs shine on this album, the same amount of attention was not applied evenly. In "Rider," Sheff's screaming is barely audible over the drum of the persistently dull guitar.
Overall, a good listen, but casual fans might consider just downloading their favourites from the online music store.
