Okkervil River
I Am Very Far
The opening track of I Am Very Far, ‘The Valley’, is such an astoundingly good song that it has probably raised Texans Okkervil River a couple of places up the list all by itself. The rhythmic, simple drum beat and the weird nu-folk riff are perfect: one of, if not the, outstanding individual track of 2011. Had the rest of the record been of that quality, this would be somewhere up in the top 5, and even vying for top spot. As it is, there rest of I Am Very Far is a strong mixture of Americana, nu-folk and rock, and still earns a solid place towards the bottom of the list (in a year where competition has been quite high). I’m told I Am Very Far is more accessible than previous records from the fairly extensive Okkervil River back catalogue. Hard to know if that’s true as I have nothing else, but for me the record still has plenty of quirks (which will probably intrigue and infuriate in equal measure, depending on the taste of the listener). I think it’s the quirks that reward repeated listens and set this apart from other superficially comparable bands like The National.
I Am Very Far
The opening track of I Am Very Far, ‘The Valley’, is such an astoundingly good song that it has probably raised Texans Okkervil River a couple of places up the list all by itself. The rhythmic, simple drum beat and the weird nu-folk riff are perfect: one of, if not the, outstanding individual track of 2011. Had the rest of the record been of that quality, this would be somewhere up in the top 5, and even vying for top spot. As it is, there rest of I Am Very Far is a strong mixture of Americana, nu-folk and rock, and still earns a solid place towards the bottom of the list (in a year where competition has been quite high). I’m told I Am Very Far is more accessible than previous records from the fairly extensive Okkervil River back catalogue. Hard to know if that’s true as I have nothing else, but for me the record still has plenty of quirks (which will probably intrigue and infuriate in equal measure, depending on the taste of the listener). I think it’s the quirks that reward repeated listens and set this apart from other superficially comparable bands like The National.
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