Okkervil River: The Stage Names

Label: Jagjaguwar

The Stage Names is Okkervil River’s best album, a more buoyant and exuberant affair than the band’s previous records, as fine as they all were, revealing new depths to frontman Will Sheff’s songwriting. The stronger pop hooks are not always matched by the solemnity of the lyrics, as dark and confessional as ever, but the sheer energy of the music never brings things down. In the past Sheff has made a concept album about doomed folksinger Tim Hardin (2005’s Black Sheep Boy) and made plenty of forays into self-examination, but here he tackles his own insecurities and ambivalent feelings about life and the music world with wit and honesty without ever getting maudlin or self-pitying. Most important, the band sounds great, tighter than ever, bringing punchy horn lines and rousing choruses to create an album that’s as much ear candy as it is profound. The Stage Names captures one of our finest and most underrated indie bands at their peak. Highly recommended. (James)

(Will Sheff of Okkervil River will be performing a solo set at Sound Fix on Saturday, August 18, at 8pm.)