The fifth release by Okkervil River, another little band from Texas, is an album that begins so well but then…leaves you a little disappointed. The first four tunes- Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe, Unless It's Kicks, Savannah Smiles, and Unless It's Kicks are outstanding tunes. They evoke such musicians as Elvis Costello, Jeff Buckley, Spoon, and if you listen carefully you can hear a little Counting Crows. But the sound is still all theirs. These songs are highlighted with both Lo-Fi and clean studio sounds. It’s a real neat combining of the two sounds and works well with the band’s style and sound. Some key vocal harmonies make these songs really pop. It does have a “poppy” feel to it but the music keeps you rocking in these first four songs.
From then on the album takes a spin down. The album begins to become more clean and poppy in the wrong ways. Instead of sounding like themselves they begin to take on traits of other groups and seem to be almost forcing the songs. Some songs seem a little too close to the people I mentioned as their influence earlier. The songs lose that pop/ but still rockin’ feel. Now I’m not saying that all these songs are bad some of them have very good moments such as track 8-Title Track and track 7-You Can’t Hold the Hand of Rock and Roll Man.
I also enjoyed the artwork and direction on the album. The cover painting and a few other paintings on the case are well done. The concept is creative and does follow throughout the album. Something you can appreciate on a full listen of the album.
This isn’t a bad album overall. Parts of this record are very enjoyable, but it will leave you wanting more.
