Okkervil River: Overboard and Down

Okkervil River

Back in January, after months and months of touring, Will Sheff and the rest of Okkervil River got together at Will's home in Austin, Texas to lay out some new ideas and record some songs. "We got together in the house and in a few days recorded 22 new songs. These weren't intended for release; they were just for fun. Some of them were demos for possible future use, some of them were brand-new songs I'd just written as exercises, some of them were covers, some were genre experiments. We just wanted to do a lot of recording with the express desire not to release the stuff, to rediscover the idea of recording for fun," said Sheff.

Determined not to let these songs go to waste, the band's Australian label, Low Transit Industries, suggested the idea of a tour EP. Overboard and Down is the result; the title taken from a lyric in the song "O' Dana" by Big Star, which they cover on the EP. Pitchfork has already handled the fine-tooth review portion of Overboard and Down, but besides "The President's Dead" -- which I'd already previously heard before the EP -- it was the live take of "Westfall" that really blew me away. Having never seen Okkervil River live, I was in awe of powerful and engaging they sounded, and what was previously a song that I had always felt pretty lukewarm about, is now probably my favorite Okkervil River track. Listen to it for yourself:

[MP3]: Okkervil River :: Westfall (live) (Highly Recommended!!!)
If I wasn't already ridiculously excited to see them on the 16th, this song has augmented that ten-fold. The first thing I immediately noticed is Will's ability to go from witty and joking to completely serious and brilliant in a matter of seconds, which is noted by his dialogue at the beginning of the recording as compared to the raspy shoucals (shout+vocals, clever, I know) in the close of the song, you can practically picture the spit flying from his lips. What shortly follows is wave of layered guitars, organ, and pounding drums beating the song into submission. I could only imagine that Will and friends would emerge from the rubble grinning from ear to ear just as they were before they began.

BONUS [MP3]: Okkervil River :: The President's Dead (Highly Recommended!!!)

Buy Overboard and Down from Inertia Music for like, ten bucks

As I alluded to above, Okkervil River are currently touring the US. I've missed them twice before, but I'll finally be catching them this time around. I would highly advise against making the same mistakes I did, so if they're coming near you, make sure you get your butt out there.

The Dates:
10/09/06 Ann Arbor, MI - Blind Pig w/ Elvis Perkins
10/11/06 Columbus, OH - Little Brother's w/ Elvis Perkins
10/12/06 Buffalo, NY - Soundlab w/ Elvis Perkins
10/13/06 Northampton, MA - Iron Horse Music Hall w/ Elvis Perkins
10/14/06 New York City, NY - Bowery Ballroom
10/15/06 New York City, NY - Bowery Ballroom
10/16/06 Baltimore, MD - Ottobar w/ Elvis Perkins
10/18/06 Durham, NC - Duke Coffeehouse w/ Elvis Perkins
10/19/06 Athens, GA - Caledonia Lounge w/ Elvis Perkins
10/20/06 Asheville, NC - The Grey Eagle w/ Elvis Perkins
10/21/06 Memphis, TN - Hi-Tone w/ Elvis Perkins
10/22/06 Houston, TX - Numbers w/ Oakley Hall + Jenny Lewis
11/02/06 Athens, Greece - AN Club
11/03/06 Bergamo, Italy - Zero
11/04/06 Bologna, Italy - Covo
11/05/06 San Elpidio, Italy - Teatro Ciccone
11/07/06 Ravenna, Italy - Bronson
11/08/06 Verbania, Italy - Perche No
11/09/06 Grenoble, France - Eve
11/11/06 Castellon, Spain - Tanned Tin Festival

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