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8. I Am Very Far by Okkervil River
And the theme continues of bands that I historically love releasing albums that are good, but a little disappointing.
I’ll be honest, my standards for Okkervil River are unreasonably high. I still tend to think that Black Sheep Boy (2005) is one of the finest albums recorded by human beings so far in history. I breezed through their five albums in a series of whirlwind romances from fall 2007 to fall 2008, ending up helplessly in love with each of their subtle charms like some great-hearted polygynists with five wives on his arm. It’s entirely credible that I Am Very Far, if it had wooed me as a swooning high school junior, could take its rightful place in esteem beside the other albums. Never underestimate the power of those bleary-eyed drives to school in the morning and the coffee-fueled returns from work after dark: emotional effervescence and too-loud music spilling out the windows rolled unseasonably down.
How do you compete with that? I Am Very Far has a few tricks up its sleeve: the infectious driving rhythm is one. From the dark opening beats of “The Valley” to the soaring choruses of “Rider” to the ivory-pounding intro of “White Shadow Waltz” to the hollering fury of “Wake and Be Fine,” I Am Very Far is percussively eloquent—it would make a great live show. The music is as strong as ever, so I love putting it on when I’m going for a long drive, but the compelling storytelling that Okkervil usually delivers is somewhat lacking on this album. But I hold out hope that the more I listen, the more the themes will become clear to me and work their way into my melting heart.
I do easily get the words to “Your Past Life as a Blast” stuck in my head. “No one, no one is going to stop me from loving my brother—not even my brother.” I’m a nostalgic soul, and this song hits folks like me right in the sentimentalist gut.
