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Aug 23, 2022 By Mark Redfern

Okkervil River frontman Will Sheff is releasing his debut solo album, Nothing Special, on October 7 via ATO. Now he has shared the album’s title track, “Nothing Special,” via a video for the song. John Paul Horstmann directed the video. Watch it below, followed by Sheff’s upcoming tour dates.

Previously Sheff shared the album’s first single, “Estrangement Zone,” via a video for the song. “Estrangement Zone” was one of our Songs of the Week.

Nothing Special features musical contributions from guitarist Will Graefe, bassist Benjamin Lazar Davis, Christian Lee Hutson, Dawes drummer Griffin Goldsmith, and Death Cab For Cutie pianist Zac Rae. The album also features guest vocals from Cassandra Jenkins and Eric D. Johnson of Fruit Bats and Bonny Light Horseman. It was engineered by John Congleton, Matt Linesch, and Marshall Vore.

In a previous press release, Sheff had this to say about the new album: “When I was just a kid, I got caught up in the dream of being a rock and roll star. Like so many other young people, I fell in love with the idea of being called to this glorious path outside of ordinary life. And I ended up in a band with people who felt this same call - especially our brilliant drummer Travis Nelsen, who was like a brother to me. We would trade tales of hilarious antics and outrageous excess and tragic death like they were almost scripture. Travis and I fell out painfully, and he died in the early weeks of lockdown. I think a big part of Nothing Special centers around grieving for him, grieving for everything my friends have lost, grieving for the rock and rock and roll myth, and trying to open my eyes to a more transcendent reality.”

Okkervil River’s most recent album, In the Rainbow Rain, came out in 2018 via ATO.

Read our The End interview on endings and death with Will Sheff.

Will Sheff Tour Dates:

10/07 — Los Angeles, CA @ Masonic Lodge @ Hollywood Forever (Release Show)
11/03 — Iowa City, IA @ Englert Theatre
11/04 — Minneapolis, MN @ Cedar Cultural Center
11/05 — Chicago, IL @ Old Town School of Folk Music
11/06 — Milwaukee, WI @ Collectivo
11/08 — Bloomington, IN @ Buskirk-Chumley Theater
11/09 — Grand Rapids @ Pyramid Scheme
11/10 — Toronto, ON @ Great Hall
11/11 — Ferndale, MI @ Otus Supply
11/13 — Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
11/14 — Asheville, NC @ The Grey Eagle
11/15 — Washington DC @ Black Cat
11/17 — Philadelphia, PA @ World Cafe Live
11/18 — New York, NY @ Le Poisson Rouge
11/19 — Woodstock, NY @ Colony
11/20 — Somerville, MA @ Crystal Ballroom
11/21 — Portland, ME @ SPACE

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