''Don't Fall in Love with Everyone You See'' is the first full-length

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

from alternative folk-rock group,

Okkervil River Okkervil River is an American rock band led by singer-songwriter Will Sheff. Formed in Austin, Texas, in 1998, the band takes its name from a short story by Russian author Tatyana Tolstaya set on the river Okkervil in Saint Petersburg. They be ...

. Released on January 22, 2002 on the label

Jagjaguwar Jagjaguwar is an American independent record label based in Bloomington, Indiana, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Berlin. Jagjaguwar is a label included in Secretly Group, which also includes ...

, it contains the single, "Kansas City". Artist

William Schaff William J. Schaff Jr. is an artist and musician based in Warren, Rhode Island and Oakland, California. He is known for artwork for the bands Okkervil River, Songs: Ohia, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. "An electric ...

, not to be confused with lead singer

Will Sheff Will Sheff (born July 7, 1976) is the frontman for the Austin, Texas-based indie band Okkervil River (1998–present). Originally from Meriden, New Hampshire, he is also a founding member and co-songwriter (along with former Okkervil bandmate ...

, designed the cover art. The album features an array of instruments including

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

pedal steel The pedal steel guitar is a console-type of steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings to enable playing more varied and complex music than any previous steel guitar design. Like all steel guitars, it can p ...

mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which pushes a length of magnetic tape against a capstan, which pulls it across a playback head. ...

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

, string and

horn section A horn section is a group of musicians playing horns. In an orchestra or concert band, it refers to the musicians who play the "French" horn, and in a British-style brass band it is the tenor horn players. In many popular music genres, the ter ...

s. The

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

murder ballad Murder ballads are a subgenre of the traditional ballad form dealing with a crime or a gruesome death. Their lyrics form a narrative describing the events of a murder, often including the lead-up and/or aftermath. The term refers to the content ...

"Westfall" stems from Sheff's recollections of the Yogurt Shop Murders, four grotesque murders of teenage girls in Austin, Texas by college students, and the subsequent trials. The song was written around the lines "They're looking for evil / Thinking they can trace it / But evil don't look like anything."

Track listing

Personnel

;Okkervil River * Jonathan Meiburg – Bass, accordion, tambourine, wurlitzer *

– Vocals, guitar, mellotron, harmonica, organ ("Dead Dog Song") * Zachary Thomas – Mandolin, bass (electric), vocals, string bass * Seth Warren – Drums, vocals, spoons, taragat ;Guest musicians * Alex Arcone – Saxophone ("Red") * Ethan Azarian – Banjo * Brian Beattie – Organ, organ (Hammond) * Scott Blesner – Violin * Michael Crow – Trumpet ("Lady Liberty") * Peter Elliot – Trumpet ("Lady Liberty") *

Daniel Johnston Daniel Dale Johnston (January 22, 1961 – September 11, 2019) was an American singer, musician and artist regarded as a significant figure in outsider, lo-fi, and alternative music scenes. Most of his work consisted of cassettes recorded a ...

– Vocals ("Happy Hearts") * Channing Lewis – Saxophone ("Lady Liberty") * Gary Newcomb – Pedal steel * Ashley Rath – Violin ("Listening to Otis Redding at Home During Christmas") * June Rhee – Violin ("Listening to Otis Redding at Home During Christmas") * Alice Spencer – Vocals * Brian Standefer – Cello ("Listening to Otis Redding at Home During Christmas") ;Technical personnel * Brian Beattie – Producer, engineer, mixing * Mark Pedini – Layout design *

– Artwork, layout design * Will Sheff – Layout design * Billy Stull – Mastering

References

External links

Album summary from Okkervil River
(February 27, 2002) {{Authority control 2002 debut albums Okkervil River albums Jagjaguwar albums