Okkervil River is an American rock band led by singer-songwriter Will Sheff. Formed in Austin, Texas, in 1998, the band takes its name from a short story by Russian author Tatyana Tolstaya set on the river Okkervil in Saint Petersburg. They began as a trio made up of Sheff and friends he had met in his native state of New Hampshire but, over time, have gone through many lineups.
"Waterloo Sunset" is a song by British rock band the Kinks. It was released as a single in 1967, and featured on their album Something Else by the Kinks. Composed and produced by Kinks frontman Ray Davies, "Waterloo Sunset" is one of the band's best known and most acclaimed songs, and ranked number 42 on "Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". It is also their first single that is available in true stereo.
Don't Fall in Love with Everyone You See is the first full-length studio album from alternative folk-rock group, Okkervil River. Released on January 22, 2002 on the label Jagjaguwar, it contains the single, "Kansas City". Artist William Schaff, not to be confused with lead singer Will Sheff, designed the cover art. The album features an array of instruments including violin, pedal steel, mellotron, banjo, string and horn sections.
Jagjaguwar is an American independent record label based in Bloomington, Indiana, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Berlin. Jagjaguwar is a label included in Secretly Group, which also includes Secretly Canadian and Dead Oceans. Secretly Group includes the three record labels as well as a music publisher known as Secretly Publishing, representing artists, writers, filmmakers, producers, and comedians.
Stars Too Small to Use is Okkervil River's second EP, released in mid-1999. It was recorded live over a span of three days in 1998 when the band was still forming. Three of the tracks appeared revised on later recordings: "He Passes Number Thirty-Three" on the 2003 split EP Julie Doiron / Okkervil River, "The Velocity of Saul at the Time of His Conversion" on the 2003 album Down the River of Golden Dreams, and "For the Captain" on the 2005 EP Black Sheep Boy Appendix.
Sleep and Wake-Up Songs is the third EP by Okkervil River, released on November 2, 2004. This interim release was in anticipation of their subsequent full-length album, Black Sheep Boy.
Shearwater is an American indie rock band from Austin, Texas, led by multi-instrumentalist and lead singer Jonathan Meiburg, a singer-songwriter. The band's music is notable for its imagery based in nature, cerebral yet intimate melodic songs, as well as Meiburg's vocals.
William J. Schaff Jr. is an artist and musician based in Warren, Rhode Island and Oakland, California. He is known for artwork for the bands Okkervil River, Songs: Ohia, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones.
Will Sheff is the frontman for the Austin, Texas-based indie band Okkervil River (1998–present). Originally from Meriden, New Hampshire, he is also a founding member and co-songwriter for Shearwater (2001–2009), another Austin band. Sheff writes and performs many songs as a solo artist while juggling his commitments to Okkervil River and Shearwater, but has released just one single as a solo artist. As well as writing and singing songs, he plays the guitar, the piano, the banjo, and the harmonica.
Jonathan Meiburg is an American musician and writer, best known as the lead singer and songwriter for Shearwater.
Down in a Mirror: A Second Tribute to Jandek is a tribute album compiled by Moscow, PA-based independent record label Summersteps Records, released as a follow-up to the label's first Jandek tribute, Naked in the Afternoon. As with Naked in the Afternoon, Down In A Mirror features cover versions of songs by the reclusive avant-folk/blues singer/songwriter Jandek. Some of the artists are members of the Summersteps roster or fans forming one-time combos to participate on the album, but the album also features contributions from Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, Six Organs of Admittance, The Mountain Goats, Kawabata Makoto of Acid Mothers Temple, Lewis & Clarke and Okkervil River.
The Stage Names is the fourth full-length studio album by American indie rock band Okkervil River, released on August 7, 2007. The album was recorded in Austin, Texas, with longtime Okkervil producer Brian Beattie, and with mixing from Spoon drummer and producer Jim Eno. Like other Okkervil River albums, the accompanying artwork is the work of artist William Schaff. The cover refers to a line from "Unless It's Kicks". The record was also released as a limited-edition 2-CD set that included a second disc of solo acoustic demos. A newly recorded version of "Love to a Monster", which appeared in rough demo form on the band's tour EP, Overboard and Down, was originally intended to appear on the album, but didn't make it on, and appears as a bonus track when the album is purchased through eMusic. "Shannon Wilsey on the Starry Stairs", described by lead singer and songwriter Will Sheff as "kind of a sequel to 'Savannah Smiles' and kind of a sister song to "John Allyn Smith Sails'", is included as a bonus track when the album is purchased through iTunes.
"Unravel" is the third song on the album Homogenic by Björk, which was released in 1997. The song features a prominent example of Björk's use of a half-singing, half-speaking technique which, according to folklore specialist Njall Sigurason, is comparable to that of Old Icelandic choirmen. Structurally, the song is made up of a slowly sweeping melody, saxophones, a church organ, and distant-sounding electronic beats. Thematically, the song describes two faraway lovers. One of the lovers realizes that the love between the two of them is unraveling because of factors out of their control. The lover, Björk, seeks to reunite with her lover to rebuild the love lost.
Rook is the fifth studio album by American indie rock band Shearwater. It was released on June 3, 2008, on the Matador Records label. The track "Rooks" was the first single from the album. The album was previewed on May 5, 2008 and May 29, 2008, at two special concerts in Manhattan and Austin, Texas. The band toured in support of the album later in 2008. The album gained the band a spot on Entertainment Weekly's "Must List" on May 28.
The Stand Ins is the fifth full-length studio album by American indie rock band Okkervil River, released on September 9, 2008. The album is the second half of The Stage Names, a planned double album. The title comes from the term 'stand-in', a person who substitutes for the actor before filming for technical purposes. If the cover art for The Stage Names is placed above that of The Stand-Ins, a complete picture is formed. The album charted at #42 with 11,000 copies sold, according to the Billboard 200.
I Am Very Far is the sixth album by Okkervil River, released on May 10, 2011. It was produced primarily in Austin, Connecticut and Brooklyn by lead singer Will Sheff with John Congleton and Phil Palazzolo.
Leave Your Soul to Science is the sixth studio album by Melbourne band Something for Kate, released in September 28, 2012. The album debuted at No.5 on the ARIA Charts. The album was produced by John Congleton, whose previous credits include Okkervil River, Shearwater and The New Pornographers and recorded at his Elmwood studio in Dallas, Texas. Frontman Paul Dempsey told The Age the band had been looking for someone to tell them when enough was enough. "We recognised an inclination or proclivity among ourselves to procrastinate and keep layering stuff up," he said. "We knew that we needed to fight that instinct and he was very much the guy to help us."
Away is the eighth studio album by American rock band Okkervil River, released on September 9, 2016. This album is the band's second release on ATO Records, following their previous studio album The Silver Gymnasium.
Golden Opportunities 3 is a free downloadable EP by indie rock band Okkervil River, containing the covers of five songs. It was released as a free download from the band's website on December 18, 2013. It is a sequel to their 2011 album, Golden Opportunities 2.
In the Rainbow Rain is the ninth studio album by American indie band Okkervil River. The album was released on ATO Records on April 27, 2018.
