Okkervil River

[August 29th, 2007] [FOLK ROCK] At times, Will Sheff has no control over his voice. And he shouldn’t, because it’s during those beautiful, wild moments of strain and release that Okkervil River’s songs feel so incredibly honest. Amid his band’s rollicking, folk-leaning indie rock, Sheff often flies right off the handle—and something about that surrender to emotion feels deeply, inarguably true.

Such emotional throughlines are even more impressive considering Okkervil River’s lyrics read, on paper, like dense dream journals or heady narratives penned by an overachieving yet gifted literature student. What’s more: All of this is made catchy . From cutting pontifications on the nature of evil (see “Westfall,” from 2002’s Don’t Fall in Love With Everyone You See ) to sullen ballads examining the possibility for coldness in love (Black Sheep Boy ’s epic “The Stone”), Okkervil River takes difficult subject matter and makes it sounds so lovely, captivating or, at its simplest, rocking that you almost get away without noticing the depth of what you’re hearing—almost.

The reason it doesn’t escape you is that you’ve felt it before. The ardent, aching tone of words like “I would be anything/ That you wanted me to be” (from “A Favor”) resonates in your bones. And Okkervil River’s shuffling percussion, whining horns, warm organ, tinking bells and strings galore make these already human sentiments feel like home. All of this, in the live setting, is enough to bring you to your knees, or at least cause you to pull a muscle.

Plainly put, Okkervil River—which is made up of Shearwater’s Jonathan Meiburg (keys, accordion), drummer Travis Nelsen, guitar-slinger Brian Cassidy (electric and pedal steel), Scott Brackett (coronet, organ), Zachary Thomas (mandolin) and bassist Patrick Pestorius—is easily one of the most important bands of our time. And Sheff is surely among his generation’s best songwriters. Consider this: On just-released album The Stage Names , Sheff transforms closing track “John Allyn Smith Sails” into a blowout adaptation of traditional-cum-Beach Boys tune “Sloop John B” (which is destined to be mind-blowing live), and the only complaint you could issue is that Sheff didn’t just finish the song himself. Because at this point in his career, it’s hard to believe there are any words more valuable than his own.