Okkervil River
Fri, Sep 15, 5:15 PM Austin Ventures Stage Stage
There was always a hint of menace to the music of Austins Okkervil River. Two albums Down the River of Golden Dreams and Dont Fall in Love With Everyone You See dealt with the sad stuff, but the post-modern chamber-pop arrangements were warm. Things changed on Black Sheep Boy. The band got dark. Frontman Will Sheffs lyrics were the stuff of nightmares and horror films full of gnashing teeth, claws, shredded throats and buckets of blood. The albums arrangements were every bit as full as previous recordings, but a turgid, urgent, pained sound emerged. After opening with a wounded, spare take on Tim Hardins Black Sheep Boy, the album explodes into catharsis on For Real, with Sheff singing like a tortured soul. On Black, the band sounds like a cross between Dock Boggs and the Cure. The equally intense Sheep Boy Appendix, comprised of worthy overflow, was released last fall. Okkervils live presentation is every bit as urgent, with the gangly, bespectacled Sheff given to hopping on top of the bass drum for some rigorous riffing. The effect is thrilling and scary. Just like Okkervil River.
www.okkervilriver.com