The other day as I sat in my gyno's reception area waiting to be examined (probed, humiliated), I turned for solace to my iPod and the Okkervil River playlist. A few months earlier, after listening to them nonstop for two years, I'd taken their CDs out of my car, and already the hankering was returning. I'd never grown truly tired of them.
The first song that came up was "For Real" -- the Black Sheep Boy version, not the longer cut from the For Real EP. It hit me with such force, I put it on repeat and just listened trancelike to it over and over and over again until a nurse in a pink jacket stepped out and called my name, destroying the magical reverie I had going.
Will Sheff may be the best young composer/songwriter we've got. His construction is brilliant. His songs move, turn, meander, crest and fall in a way I find enthralling. If there were no lyrics, I'd still be held in the grip of the song's narrative. As a writer, Sheff is as literate and poetic as they come. Each song is practically a novella unto itself, each line pregnant with sound, imagery, and meaning. A century ago, he'd have been a poet. As a singer, he's sometimes pitchy, yet his voice is very "for real" and he knows how to use it to add another emotional layer to the experience. As a performer, he's all heart, heart and soul.
Seeing Okkervil River live and watching all the elements come together was my favorite concert experience ever -- and this was in a storied Los Angeles club with a poor sound system. I can't wait to see what Sheff writes and records in the coming years. He's only going to get better, though sometimes I can't see how that's possible.
Here's a great little video of the band laying down the tracks for "For Real:"
