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Apr 26, 2018 Okkervil River By Mischa Pearlman

Okkervil River vocalist Will Sheff—much like The National’s Matt Berninger—has the kind of voice that, regardless of lyrics, conveys an inherent and infinite melancholy. That’s something that’s pervaded his entire body of work, whether in the forlorn and simple majesty of early Shearwater—the band he co-founded soon after Okkervil River and then left a few years later—or within the increasingly complex and ambitious compositions of Okkervil River.

That’s perhaps not better embodied than by the opening track on this ninth studio record, “Famous Tracheotomies,” in which Sheff relates his own experience of that surgery as a child to those of famous people throughout the ages. What, on paper, could come across as an irreverent list of Hollywood Reporter-style tabloid news flashes, becomes a touching tribute.

There’s direct emotion here, too—namely on the spectral slow-motion soundscapes of “Shelter Song,” the dazzling, quasi-tropical grooves of “Family Song,” and the earnest lilt of “Don’t Move Back to LA,” a smooth-pop plea to friends of Sheff’s who have left him in Brooklyn and headed to the West Coast city. Yet while the sentiment is sincere in all of those songs, there’s also an element of whimsy in them too—perhaps because of the glossy ‘70s studio rock sheen that underpins them, and the other tracks, on this record.

The result is an album that’s deeply affecting, but which—even if it is—doesn’t feel quite as personal or authentic as much of the band’s previous output. It’s also their most anachronistic record to date. Neither of those things are inherently bad, but—despite the fact that the forlorn splendor of Sheff’s voice is on full display on “External Actor” and “Human Being Song,” the closing tracks of In the Rainbow Rain—it does mean this album takes more time than usual to burrow into your heart. (www.okkervilriver.com)

Author rating: 7.5/10