I Am Very Far

Under the leadership of singer-songwriter Will Sheff, Austin indie rock collective Okkervil River has been releasing acclaimed records of intellectual indie-folk for over a decade. Following a pair of alt-country-leaning offerings written around a pop culture theme (2007's The Stage Names and 2008's The Stand-Ins), Sheff spent two years collaborating with the likes of Norah Jones, Roky Erickson and The New Pornographers before penning nearly thirty songs for I Am Very Far. On their newest release, Sheff and company stray from their love of steel guitar and recapture much of the dark, enigmatic energy that drove 2005's Black Sheep Boy. Much of the album was recorded in full band takes with over a dozen musicians, with the standout "Wake and Be Fine" benefiting most from this extra-large approach. Throughout the record, a deluge of keys, strings, woodwinds and more (castanets lead the record's opening bars) are called on to compliment Sheff's frenzied vocals, still prone to outbursts of falsetto and guttural howls. In the end, it's not their most immediately engaging work, yet repeat listens reveal the emotion under the thick layers of instrumentation. At this point, it seems clear that Sheff deserves to be mentioned alongside the likes of John Darnielle and Colin Meloy as indie rock's brainiest and most accomplished songwriters.