Jagjaguwar

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The striking thing about Okkervil River's sixth album and first recording for four years, I Am Very Far is its relentless consistency. Just try and pick a standout from its eleven tracks. It's an exhaustive task that'll send you back to the drawing board time and time again. This is somewhat surprising as unlike its three immediate predecessors, the offcut filled The Stand Ins and its ultra-impressive primary, The Stage Names and promising second album Black Sheep Boy, it doesn't hang together around one thematic idea. Frontman and principal songwriter Will Sheff has always worn his heart on his sleeve, brutally and honestly laying bare his often bleak view of the world and I Am Very Far is no different. What is different is there is much more diversity in the subject matter this time around and the 'rough around the edges approach' musically makes the songs seem immediate in sound but not in arrangement, eminently touchable but only after the investment of time. The former is less direct and more obscure but no less foreboding, an indicator that talented artists of the intellectual foundations of Sheff and company continue to evolve and grow. Of the latter, it smacks of musicians more than comfortable in their own skins.

The huge snare sound on opener The Valley immediately pricks interest as Sheff precedes to take us through 'the valley of the rock and roll dead' explicitly spewing forth about the ever-present impending metaphorical death of those who ply their trade as musicians, 'A slit throat makes a note like a raw winter wind. We were piled in the river with the rock and roll skinned'. Intensity rounds of the grisly journey both musically and lyrically. If we are any doubt about how hard its been, Sheff reminds us 'times ten'. 'Piratess' takes things down more than several notches with its laid back almost weirdly downbeat disco funk. The emphasis lyrically matches its menacing bass line as Sheff prepares to sacrifice himself to a woman he knows will hurt him in the end. Musically, it's probably the most unlike Okkervil River song they've ever done - a clever addition between the opener and the pensively familiar, 'Rider', is more in keeping with the big sound found on The Stage Names with its hard strumming guitar and pseudo-anthemic approach.

'Lay Of The Last Survivor' contains a country tinge merged with 70s AM pop, its tinkling keyboard and uplifting slide guitar and orchestration belying the downcast funereal subject matter. 'White Shadow Waltz' brings back the rock and is not a waltz at all. Rather, its a tense ride where the build up lasts for an eternity until the four-four beat rolls in, albeit not for long as broken glass and apocalyptic strings return us to the angst. Here, the big black dog of depression strikes with a vengeance, 'in the presence of all our despisers, we'll falter and crawl to the bed', - oh the helplessness of it all.

The cleverly constructed 'We Need A Myth' exposes the fragility of human beings in their ability to confront the truth whether personally or collectively. It just seems all too difficult to grasp anything other than the blissful simplicity of a religious myth, 'to get two nails through the wrist, to get covered in blood and to get covered in spit, and to forgive, And if all we're taught is a trick, why would this feeling persist, and with the truth closing in, I must insist, we need a myth'. The wistful longing of 'Mermaid' is perfectly placed on the record, almost musically a cathartic experience.

'Show Yourself' begins with a delicate mixture of unsettling guitars, slide and otherwise before giving way to a glorious, yet simple and subtle hook merged with expertly crafted effects. The bass then nicely rumbles along before the track breaks into dissonant guitars for its finale. The almost tropical 80s throwback, ''Your Past Life As A Blast' has a catchy three chord bass line and sports barely noticeable guitar strumming as its rhythmic base as Sheff asks alternatively, 'will you come over here and do me violence...will you stand up tall and be my shelter'. A telling line ends the song, 'because no-one is going to stop me from loving my brother, not even my brother'.

A waltz of the rock variety does appear in the form of 'Wake And Be Fine' where dreams seem to have gone very wrong. The song maybe gives you the impression that all the overt and covert instances of impending dread, doom and violence that pepper the album is all in Sheff's head. Of that we'll never know. The closer continues the dream like state, this time musically, as intensely constructed orchestration ebbs and flows across layered vocals. The finale sees beautiful harmonies duel with off kilter instrumentation and raucous yet restrained drum fills, a perfect ending.

This is a special album, one that won't immediately occur to you in that sense. However, I Am Very Far soon makes a place for itself in both the musical and intellectual parts of the brain. The subject matter at time can be relentless in its misery but if you delve carefully behind the menace, there's seemingly a laid bare humanity that's discernable. All the immediately impressive musical qualities that Okkervil River have displayed throughout their nine year recording career shine through in spades on this record. What gives further pleasure is the mystery created through obscurity. There's nothing wrong with directness in lyrical compositions and that directness suited albums like The Stage Names. With I Am Very Far, you'll want to delve beneath the almost impenetrable surface to unearth context and meaning, to find the shades of light, to determine whether indeed humanity deserves or has a future.

James Stocker - May 15, 2011.

Wake And Be Fine

Okkervil River (USA)

From the album, 'I Am Very Far', Jagjaguwar.

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