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Review Summary: Middle-aged man rambles through poetic autumnal narratives Every fall I return to two gems of the late-era Okkervil River catalog: The Silver Gymnasium and Away, both of which (in different ways) I’ve found to perfectly capture the peculiar feel of the season. Therefore, I was delighted when Okkervil River frontman Will Sheff released his first solo effort in early October, right on time. Nothing Special appears to be (by intent) a very one-note release, leaning hard on its strong lyrics and Sheff’s distinct vocal style over sparse musical arrangements. Said sparse arrangements make the occasional divergences all the more notable, like the jaunty melody of opener “The Spiral Season” or the roaring guitar solo which concludes “Like The Last Time”. Those lyrics, though. I could spend a few hours analyzing them, but I won’t, just noting that they’re worth your time. All told, that 3.8/5 score feels like a compromise, as when I’m in the perfect mindset this album feels like one of the finest albums I’ve heard all year, while if listened to when the mood isn’t quite right, the sleepiness of most of the album overwhelms its virtues. At the very least, Nothing Special is worth a spin for fans of Okkervil River, folk, or good lyrics, if for no other reason than to decide whether the album title is appropriate or not.
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Album Rating: 4.0
The summary might read a little snarky, but it's true. If that sort of thing sounds interesting to you, you're probably the target audience for this album, if not, definitely avoid. I could see some people really loving this but it aims for a niche.
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Never been able to click with okkervil. What album should I go?Take a fall walk to to try and change my mind?
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
@WatchItExplode, my tastes in them are kinda unorthodox since the two late-era albums I mentioned in the review are my go-tos, but Away might be the best from my view for the setting you mentioned. The Silver Gymnasium has more of a nostalgic '80s rock feel, so if that sounds interesting, you could go that route as well.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
Had to add a few random commas to get there, Chef!
| | | Album Rating: 3.5 | Sound Off
Great album, I am that middle aged man in the park
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If nothing else, this is one of the funnier album titles I've seen recently.
I bet this would appeal to me but alas I have still only heard the Okkervil River debut album, so probably not going to go for this one.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5 | Sound Off
Keep it on the back burner Boney - it’ll make my top 100 of the year, and that’s good going this year.
SunnyV - yeah ‘Away’ is really good, this goes somewhere quite close to that album at times. This would probably gatecrash my top 4 Okkervil River, im not that into them always. I’m more for the latter career stuff too
1. Away
2. Black Sheep
3. Stage Names
4. This
Maybe
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
@Boney, I'd definitely say the band as a whole is up your alley.
@Doof, interesting ranking, good to see another Away fan!
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The short review meta is back, and I'm all for it. Much better than the six+ paragraph reviews that end up eating themselves by the end.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
And we’d know it by the gleam
We had seen inside some dream
That was beamеd through our boyhood bedrooms
When we wеre nothing special
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
I take the world's full weight on my tongue,
I say a song is anything that's sung
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nice bump gotta check
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
It's a lyrical goldmine and a solid grower, might not resonate on first listen though!
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