{"title":"Okkervil River","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOkkervil River is an indie rock band from Austin, Texas, formed in 1998. The band draws inspiration from a short story by Russian author Tatyana Tolstaya for their name. Led by Will Robison Sheff on vocals and guitar, the current line-up also includes Benjamin Lazar Davis on bass, Will Graefe on guitar, Sarah Pedinotti on keys, and Cully Symington on percussion. Former members have included Scott Brackett, Brian Cassidy, Jonathan Meiburg, Travis Nelsen, Patrick Pestorius, Seth Warren, Zachary Thomas, and Mark Pedini.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"i-am-very-far","title":"I Am Very Far","description":"\u003cp\u003e'i am very far' is a startling break from anything this band has done before. the band's will sheff emerges not only as a songwriter of the highest caliber, but a producer and arranger of singular vision. 'i am very far' is monolithic and darkly ambiguous. sheff contributed vocals to the new pornographers' album 'together', wrote a song for norah jones' 'the fall', and helmed the roky erickson record 'true love cast out all evil', for which his album notes received a grammy nomination. the writing process for 'i am very far' produced 30 or so songs, which he narrowed down to 18, recorded in a series of short, high-intensity sessions, each in a different location, each employing completely different methods than the one before it. for songs like 'rider' and 'wake and be fine', sheff gathered together a massive version of okkervil river - two drummers, two pianists, two bassists, and seven guitarists, all playing live in one room - and led them on a week of live-in-the-studio marathon sessions, performing a single song obsessively over and over for as many as 12 hours to capture just the right take. finishing the record from home, sheff constantly edited and reworked the album, reinventing the song structures, re-recording vocals, re-writing until the very last minute, reshaping even the tiniest of details, ultimately creating an album that plays not only as a lush, seamless epic, but also as the most deeply personal effort of his career.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"No Label","offers":[{"title":"LP | x2","offer_id":50409832186187,"sku":"338972","price":32.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50409831956811,"sku":"338971","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/1ca18824-5e16-47e6-94cc-68e6468b1865_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726629307"},{"product_id":"mermaid-walked-out-on-a-line","title":"Mermaid \/ Walked Out On A Line","description":"\u003cp\u003ethis exclusive 12\" with download from okkervil river precedes a brand new album. 'mermaid' is the darkest song you'll hear all year: a self-contained fable shot through with evocative and disturbing imagery but rising to a sweeping, romantic, oddly moving climax. this waltz-time ballad gestures towards the tattered folk of okkervil river's beloved 2005 album 'black sheep boy', but somehow unearths something much more mysterious and blurrily ambiguous. with 'walked out on a line' we get a glimpse of what might further emerge. choral and atmospheric and stripped of any of the acoustic textures that have defined much of the band's past work, 'walked out on a line' is a smooth-sailing symbolist fever-dream, fractured and impressionistic lyrics floating over a sea of sighing voices, glittering rhodes, and a gently driving beat. it's an ambitious statement about how much innovative fuel the band has to burn, an as fleeting a 5:20 song as you're likely to hear.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"No Label","offers":[{"title":"12\"","offer_id":50410492297547,"sku":"335788","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/8d2f5b11-964e-46d2-9405-5cb0207b98a3_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726642702"},{"product_id":"the-stage-names","title":"The Stage Names","description":"\u003cp\u003ereissued version - ultimately, 'the stage names' shows how a vastly talented 'mid-level band' (their own words) sees itself, but there's no bitterness here, just overwhelming self-doubt and perseverance. despite its density (they fit worlds into just nine songs), the album remains exciting and accessible, albeit highly sobering. it's about the folly of popular music and its attendant lifestyles, but these songs are so good and so moving that they only give us stupid, stubborn hope.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"No Label","offers":[{"title":"LP","offer_id":50410548625739,"sku":"290882","price":22.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50410548887883,"sku":"290881","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/e4fcbba3-41b3-4135-a84c-9a9a6be0b84d_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726644086"},{"product_id":"the-stand-ins","title":"The Stand Ins","description":"\u003cp\u003eokkervil river's new full-length album 'the stand ins' is the sequel to 2007's critically acclaimed 'the stage names', which pitchfork praised as \"...one of the year's best\". 'the stand ins' was recorded in austin and produced by longtime collaborator brian beattie and okkervil river. the album features 11 songs and includes the track 'lost coastlines,' on which sheff and recently departed jonathan meiburg of shearwater share a duet on the joys and hardships of trying to keep the band together. of the process will sheff explains, \"we had so many songs we were excited about that we briefly threw around the idea of just putting out a double record. instead, we decided to take a group of songs that fit with each other and turn that into the stage names, setting the rest aside for a future release, a the stage names sequel.\" 'the stand ins' is that sequel, part two of a staggered double album. like artist william schaff's embroidered artwork, which depicts what's happening underneath the stage names' front-cover quicksand hand, 'the stand ins' picks up exactly where part one left off but also delves deeper into the story and theme of 'the stage names'. it is a full-length, fleshed-out, deeply ambitious labour of love. on jag jaguwar.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"No Label","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50410570187083,"sku":"306274","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"LP","offer_id":50410570613067,"sku":"306275","price":29.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/e25d9f12-0f97-4b51-86fe-17137acce04a_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726644835"},{"product_id":"a-dream-in-the-dark-two-decades-of-okkervil-river-live","title":"A Dream in the Dark: Two Decades of Okkervil River Live","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis 4xLP set distills the very best of the subscription-only digital album series \u003ci\u003eA Dream in the Dark\u003c\/i\u003e into an epic chronological live compilation that doubles as an Okkervil River songbook, presenting the greatest hits of Will Sheff’s celebrated band in live, alternate, expanded and re-imagined versions, as captured in sweaty dive bars, lavish concert halls, and festival stages across the world. Packaged in a gorgeous quadruple-sleeved hardback booklet and limited to only 2000 copies worldwide.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"ATO Records","offers":[{"title":"Black | LP | x4","offer_id":50453437350219,"sku":"1102490","price":37.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/b6ea5e6d-fac5-420e-ad14-06ac40dd6ad1_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727172037"},{"product_id":"black-sheep-boy-10th-anniversary-edition","title":"Black Sheep Boy - 10th Anniversary Edition","description":"\u003cp\u003eOkkervil River's third studio album, the iconic 'Black Sheep Boy', celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. 'Black Sheep Boy' is a love story and adult fable carved in lacerating rock and roll, desolate late-night country weepers, and a few shining moments of sheer, shameless pop. along the way, the compositions of Will Sheff evoke the mature songcraft of Leonard Cohen's new skin for the old ceremony, the sophistication of Scott Walker's 'Scott 4', the shambling slow motion bravado of Neil Young's 'On the Beach', and the raw nerves and trick effects of Big Star's 'Third \/ Sister lovers'.3CD - Three CDs containing the original 'Black Sheep Boy', 'Black Sheep Boy Appendix' and a new CD of folk and blues covers recorded during that same period, all in slip case containing a 32 page booklet of liner notes, art and an essay from Okkervil River's Will Sheff.3LP - Three LPs containing the original 'Black Sheep Boy', 'Black Sheep Boy Appendix' and a new LP of folk and blues covers recorded during that same period, all in a boxset containing a booklet of extensive liner notes and an essay from Okkervil River's Will Sheff.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Jagjaguwar","offers":[{"title":"CD | x3","offer_id":50457891864907,"sku":"394200","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"LP | x3","offer_id":50457892651339,"sku":"394201","price":37.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/4d375bb0-8f70-4eb4-9539-2926cb31b817_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727208930"},{"product_id":"the-silver-gymnasium","title":"The Silver Gymnasium","description":"\u003cp\u003eOkkervil River release their new album, 'The Silver Gymnasium' through ATo. Although he has long been known as a character-driven songwriter, Okkervill River's Will Sheff announced that this album is a work of autobiography. 'The Silver Gymnasium' is set in a very specific time and place from Sheff's childhood - in 1986 in the small town of Meriden, NH, where Sheff's parents worked as teachers for a boarding school. Sheff conceived the album as a tribute to the spirit of pre-adolescence, meant to evoke the nostalgic feeling of 'an action figure you found in the woods.'Deluxe Double LP with two exclusive songs and CD Version.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"ATO","offers":[{"title":"LP | x2","offer_id":50491733868875,"sku":"366670","price":34.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50491734491467,"sku":"364907","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/ab9983a5-2865-4efb-b6e6-86e725b92f73_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727688661"},{"product_id":"sleep-and-wake-up-songs","title":"Sleep and Wake Up Songs","description":"\u003cp\u003eRecord Store Day 2015 Release. Limited to 500 Copies. 'Sleep and Wake-Up Songs' is re-released for Record Store Day, its first time ever pressed on vinyl.  Including a demo of the EP track  'You're Untied Again' and the never before released song  'Knocking Myself Out', the EP reveals Okkervil River in-between the monumental albums  'Down The River Of Golden Dreams' and  'Black Sheep Boy'. Okkervil River present a small collection of more meditative songs, 'Sleep And Wake-Up Songs' is just a station on your way; it knows it's not your lover. It's a little shed, a lean-to constructed on the banks of some shaded stream between mountains. There is peace and quiet here. There's a Les Paul resting against a fallen bough, but there are few loud noises, little reason to panic. The smell of cedars hangs in the air. There's a strange chill. Limited to 500 copies.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Jagjaguwar","offers":[{"title":"12\"","offer_id":50493017653579,"sku":"387577","price":22.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/028706a2-a2bb-4116-a537-c187c4b5c148_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727695005"},{"product_id":"away-1","title":"Away","description":"\u003cp\u003eOkkervil River release new album, 'Away'. The follow-up to 2013's 'The Silver Gymnasium', 'Away' marks a transition for Will Sheff, with more backing band lineup shifts and personal loss. The nine-song set was recorded in three days at a Long Island studio on the same Neve 8068 console used for Steely Dan's Aja and John Lennon's Double Fantasy. The album features collaborations from Marissa Nadler, composer Nathan Thatcher and others.2LP - With Download.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"ATO","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50493875585355,"sku":"402964","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/4da21b2c-36c7-4af9-9803-6235f5d44590_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727701350"},{"product_id":"in-the-rainbow-rain","title":"In The Rainbow Rain","description":"\u003cp\u003eATO Records release Okkervil River’s \u003ci\u003eIn The Rainbow Rain\u003c\/i\u003e, the group’s most immediate – and meaningful – album to date. On it, bandleader Will Sheff makes a startling left turn from the their critically-lauded and inward-looking 2016 album \u003ci\u003eAway\u003c\/i\u003e, crafting an exuberant declaration of hope. In place of Away’s somber strings and acoustic textures, \u003ci\u003eIn the Rainbow Rain\u003c\/i\u003e is full of dazzling color, spattered with starbursts of electric guitar, big blooms of synth, and a chorus of backing vocals. It’s a buoyant and playful record, but also open and emotionally vulnerable.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLP - Opaque Blue \/ Purple Swirl Marbled Vinyl with Download.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"ATO","offers":[{"title":"LP","offer_id":50497781793099,"sku":"1028905","price":22.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50497781989707,"sku":"1028904","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/5135f3d0-8884-46da-9df2-e875126235d0_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727732586"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/collections\/test_6392e045_thumbnail_4096_57f09fd6-67e5-457d-a5cb-c944ca8a02fb.jpg?v=1726629280","url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/collections\/okkervil-river.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}