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Black Sheep Boy ReviewIt opens with a tender strummed guitar and the short anecdotal cover of Tim Hardin's "Black Sheep Boy," Will Sheff's voice perfectly capturing the lonesome, winsome feel of the song. But then...Okkervil River was one of those obscure bands that no one would ever find without some digging, one of those band that needed, absolutely demanded commercial and critical success but you know would never receive it and drift off into some shadowy part of history, forever forgotten. To forget such an absolute treasure, one of the finest examples of just plain MUSIC in recent years, is to be a fool, plain and simple. This is one of those albums where you'll listen to it and wonder "Why the hell didn't someone try this before???" as you hear some new ingenious bit of chord or vocal or structuring. Even with all the traditional playing and instruments it utilizes, even with the grounded-to-earth folk feel this record sometimes lets on as being, the music as a whole just comes together in such a brilliant, ingenous, road-paving way that you wonder how they could do this with said ingredients.
I've read in a Modest Mouse review that it is the holy grail of artists to forge a unique sound out of rock's traditional instruments. Okkervil River not only manage to form a distinct sound (maybe described as somewhat folky, somewhat indie-rock, somewhat classical) but they pepper it with this all-defining mood of loss, not just of love, but of friendship, which is fairly refreshing. Love plays a strong part, of course, but so does plain friendship, plain and simple being there for someone else, and reconciliation, and it ends up just as compelling as any set of songs about failed relationships, etc. I've lost a friend of 13 years due to certain differences, among others, unfortunately, and I can definitely relate.
The record careens from one perfectly realized nugget of pop and musical wonderment to another, beginning with the fierce "For Real" . Utilizing imagery from Wizard of Oz, it seems the song's main distress is over the simple ability to feel. The narrator longs for something real, even going to the point of violence to obtain it. "Sometimes I thirst for real cuts/ for real blood/ For real knives/ For real crimes." It speaks deeply to these impulses within us, even dark and murderous, as some way of tryign to connect with reality. Minimalistic cymbal crashes and guitar permeate it at first, but then give way to full on rollicking drums and guitar thrashes, as if the song itself were losing its mind.
The album moves on gracefully from there. "In a Radio Song" somberly sets the pace for the rest of the record, pensive and distant. The poppy "Black" recalls abuse, full of venom and revenge despite the sweet sound of the music. The narrator seems at odds with cutting the guy's throat and at the same time trying to be there for the victim. "Get Big" is a sweet little duet, maybe a comment on growing up. "A King and Queen" continues the theme of the black sheep boy, focusing on his particular trials and tribulations. Then there's the mammoth "A Stone." This song is basically made to anyone who felt rejected and denied by someone they loved or liked deeply. "The Latest Toughs," despite the grim subject matter preceeding, is a triumphant call to personal arms, and is more apt at suggesting hope and light than pretty much any song this year, or the year previous, to be honest. "Song of Our So-Called Friend" delves deeper into the issue of friendship, all sweet harmony and slow delicate instruments as Sheff considers the nature of his so-called "friendship."
Then comes this record's denoument, "So Come Back, I Am Waiting," a love song, if in the loosest sense. After the dejection of "So Called Friend," it says "but just let me say one more time..." and is a heartbreaking lament to lost love, and a decleration to give the narrator another chance. Eight minutes of pure power and emotion, it is the shuddering and broken song of the year.
The record closes with the soft "A Glow," a gentle and reflective song of recovered love, as it only should, hinting towards the future. I can only predict incredible things for this band. I wish they would become more well-known for this appalingly incredible record. In fact, I'm surprised everyone can manage to ignore a piece of work of such mangnitude. 16 reviews? Only???Amazing. Give this a chance, and move on to the band's other work. Here is the future of intelligent pop music, the future of what will compell you in months to come. If emotion could be registered any more purely, I would love to see it. The highest reccomendation.Black Sheep Boy OverviewOn Okkervil River's first Jagjaguwar release, Don't Fall in Love with Everyone You See, the band included a song entitled "Listening to Otis Redding at Home During Christmas," a kind of re-imagining of Redding's "I've Got Dreams to Remember." On the band's newest release, they perform a trickier feat, as songwriter Will Sheff takes a lesser-known text - "Black Sheep Boy" by ‘60s folk-pop master Tim Hardin - and spins that short song's imagery into a phantasmagorical evocation of the title character, including a brief cover and a couple of sprawling, surreal sequels. Black Sheep Boy is Okkervil River's most ambitious and cinematic record yet, a love story and adult fable that evokes the mature songcraft of Leonard Cohen's New Skin for the Old Ceremony, the sophistication of Scott Walker's Scott 4, the shambling slow-motion bravado of Neil Young's On the Beach, and the raw nerves and trick effects of Big Star's Third/Sister Lovers. It also echoes Lou Reed's Transformer in that it is the band's most playful and confident record by far, delighting in linguistic games and reveling equally in sheer pop, lacerating rock'n'roll and straight-up country weepers. The most fully realized and wildly adventurous Okkervil River album also introduces such previously foreign elements as children's keyboards, digitally manipulated field recordings, and dirty splatters of distorted guitar. The longing might be keener, but the fun is funner – somebody has spiked the drinks, and there are at least two bullets in the Russian roulette chamber."We will float until we learn how to swim. Yes, that's an In the Aeroplane Over the Sea reference, and yes, Okkervil River has that sort of mythical genius." – Magnet's Eighth Best Record of 2003
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