I Am Very Far
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''I Am Very Far'' is the sixth album by
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 bega ...
, released on May 10, 2011. It was produced primarily in
Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
, Connecticut and
Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
by 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 Jo ...
with John Congleton and Phil Palazzolo.


Recording and production

''I Am Very Far'' marked a distinct break from the polished, hyper-literary folk-rock that Okkervil River had explored on their previous two albums, ''
The Stage Names ''The Stage Names'' is the fourth full-length studio album by American indie rock band Okkervil River (band), Okkervil River, released on August 7, 2007. The album was recorded in Austin, Texas, with longtime Okkervil producer Brian Beattie, and w ...
'' and ''
The Stand Ins ''The Stand Ins'' is the fifth full-length studio album by American indie rock band Okkervil River (band), Okkervil River, released on September 9, 2008.
''. In the words of songwriter Will Sheff, "I found myself wanting to not be accessible and not be crowd pleasing and basically be self-pleasing and follow what I thought was really interesting." This is the first
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 bega ...
album that Sheff produced, following his production of
Roky Erickson Roger Kynard "Roky" Erickson (July 15, 1947 – May 31, 2019) was an American musician and singer-songwriter. He was a founding member and the leader of the 13th Floor Elevators and a pioneer of the psychedelic rock genre. Biography Erickso ...
's 2010 album ''
True Love Cast Out All Evil ''True Love Cast Out All Evil'' is a 2010 album by Roky Erickson, his first album of new material in 14 years. Produced by Okkervil River's Will Sheff, the album also features the members of Okkervil River on most songs as Erickson's backing ban ...
''. From this experience, Sheff attests to gaining "a kind of chaotic, powerful energy that swirls around Roky that I started to feel infecting my own writing and my own sonic ideas and desires." In studio, the band experimented with various recording methods in each session, including fastforwarding and rewinding a cassette tape and then doubling the noises on electric guitar, tearing off strips of duct tape for percussion, singing while strolling around the room, and hurling file-cabinets across the studio. Some songs had input from a vast number of session musicians playing in the same room, such as "Rider" or "We Need a Myth," the latter of which opens with the strumming of 45 classical guitars. Lyrically, ''I Am Very Far'' is also a sharp departure from their previous work. Whereas previous albums were often composed of highly literate takes on rock legends and tropes, this album's lyrics tend to portray dark and indistinct dreamscapes. Sheff explained that "interiority is a really important thing to me, and a lot of this record did come from a subconscious, unconscious place, and I wanted it to respond to that corresponding place in listeners... I wanted it to really feel like it was operating on a subterranean level."Skinner, James
Interview: Okkervil River’s Will Sheff, Very Far
.
Drowned in Sound ''Drowned in Sound'', sometimes abbreviated to ''DiS'', is a UK-based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway. Founded by editor Sean Adams, the site features reviews, news, interviews, and discussion forums. History ''D ...
. 25 April 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2011.


Reception

''I Am Very Far'' has received mostly positive reviews. On the review aggregate site
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the album has a score of 80 out of 100, indicating "Generally favorable reviews."Critic Reviews for I Am Very Far
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
. Retrieved 26 June 2011
Sputnikmusic Sputnikmusic is an American music community website offering music criticism and music news alongside features commonly associated with wiki-style websites. The format of the website is unusual in that it includes both professional and amateur c ...
wrote "''I Am Very Far'' is certainly a more enthralling listen than ''
The Stand Ins ''The Stand Ins'' is the fifth full-length studio album by American indie rock band Okkervil River (band), Okkervil River, released on September 9, 2008.
'' was; though it may lack some of the emotional impact of ''
Down the River of Golden Dreams ''Down the River of Golden Dreams'' is the second full-length studio album by Okkervil River, released on September 2, 2003. William Schaff continued to create artwork for Okkervil River with this release. The record label Jagjaguwar released ...
'', or especially ''
Black Sheep Boy ''Black Sheep Boy'' is the third studio album by American indie rock band Okkervil River, released on April 5, 2005. The title is inspired by the song "Black Sheep Boy" by 1960s folk singer Tim Hardin. The album deals with Hardin's struggle with h ...
'', the album remains a welcomed addition into the work of a band who commands great quality-control."Okkervil River - I Am Very Far (staff review)
Sputnikmusic Sputnikmusic is an American music community website offering music criticism and music news alongside features commonly associated with wiki-style websites. The format of the website is unusual in that it includes both professional and amateur c ...
. 10 May 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
Jim Scott of '' Under the Radar'' called the album "...one of the best records of the year," writing "''I Am Very Far'' makes a strong case for Sheff to be considered one of the very best writers in music today." Scott concluded: "...looking at this stretch of recordings with such a finite lens is doing them a disservice: this is music to cherish forever." Some reviewers praised the band for pursuing a new sound on the album, with Erik Adams of
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
writing "It’s no longer the Okkervil River of ''
The Stage Names ''The Stage Names'' is the fourth full-length studio album by American indie rock band Okkervil River (band), Okkervil River, released on August 7, 2007. The album was recorded in Austin, Texas, with longtime Okkervil producer Brian Beattie, and w ...
'' or ''
Black Sheep Boy ''Black Sheep Boy'' is the third studio album by American indie rock band Okkervil River, released on April 5, 2005. The title is inspired by the song "Black Sheep Boy" by 1960s folk singer Tim Hardin. The album deals with Hardin's struggle with h ...
'', and that’s a plus: ''I Am Very Far'' signals that the band’s gifts with song and sentiment were never tied to specificity."
Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...
's Jaymie Baxley also gave the album a positive review, writing "Fans who approach ''I Am Very Far'' carrying expectations informed by the group's earlier releases will no doubt find this to be Okkervil River's most challenging work to date, but it's also the group's most grandiose, thrilling, and brilliant."
Tiny Mix Tapes ''Tiny Mix Tapes'' (also ''TMT'' or ''tinymixtapes'') is an online music and film webzine that focuses primarily on new music and related news. In addition to its reviews, it is noted for its subversive, political, and sometimes surreal news, a ...
, on the other hand, was less receptive to the band's new sound, writing "But rather than serve as a radical departure for Okkervil River, ''I Am Very Far'' treads familiar ground with a superficial extroversion that can't match the emotional particularity of the rest of the band's back catalog."Okkervil River - I Am Very Far
Tiny Mix Tapes ''Tiny Mix Tapes'' (also ''TMT'' or ''tinymixtapes'') is an online music and film webzine that focuses primarily on new music and related news. In addition to its reviews, it is noted for its subversive, political, and sometimes surreal news, a ...
. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
In another mixed review, Philip Cosores of
One Thirty BPM ''Beats Per Minute'' (formerly ''One Thirty BPM'') is a New York City– and Los Angeles–based online publication providing reviews, news, media, interviews and feature articles about the music world. ''Beats Per Minute'' covers a variety of g ...
called ''I Am Very Far'' Okkervil River's "...weakest album to date." Cosores continued: "''I Am Very Far'' is often a noisy album, seeming experimental, but ultimately just poorly edited, with the songs overly busy and taking the focus away from the songwriting and lyrics that are Sheff’s strengths."Cosores, Philip
Album Review: Okkervil River - I Am Very Far
One Thirty BPM ''Beats Per Minute'' (formerly ''One Thirty BPM'') is a New York City– and Los Angeles–based online publication providing reviews, news, media, interviews and feature articles about the music world. ''Beats Per Minute'' covers a variety of g ...
. Retrieved 19 July 2011.


Track listing


Personnel

The following people contributed to ''I Am Very Far:''I Am Very Far liner notes. ;Okkervil River * Will Sheff - Vocals, Acoustic Guitars, Wurlitzer Electric Piano, Cassette Deck, Glockenspiel, Electric Guitar (6), Additional Electric Guitar (3,4,6,9,11), Piano (1), Additional Drums (1), Sampler (1,4,5,9), File Cabinet * Scott Brackett - Cornet, Juno Synthesizer, Manipulated Samples, Vibraphone, Second Piano (3,6,10,11) * Brian Cassidy - Vocals, Second Electric Guitar (2,3,9,10), Fourth Acoustic Guitar (6), String Arrangements * Lauren Gurgiolo - Electric Guitars, Third Acoustic Guitar (6) * Jonathan Meiburg - Vocals, Angklung * Patrick Pestorius - Vocals, Bass * Justin Sherburn - Piano, Pump Organ, Farfisa, Rhodes and Helpinstill Electric Piano, Accordion, Arp Synthesizer, Second Electric Guitar (8), Horn Arrangements * Cully Symington - Drums, Percussion ;Guest musicians * Joy Askew - Vocals (3,7,11) * Nicole Atkins - Vocals (3,7,11) * Stephen Belans - Tympani, Second Drum Kit (3,6,10) * Mike Booher - Vocals (9) * William Braun - Cello * Alexis Buffum - Violin * Audrey Easley - Flute * Jeanene Ioppolo Johnson - Clarinet * Jeff Johnston - Second Acoustic Guitar (3,6,10) * Ben Kalb - Cello (3,9) * Paul Klemperer - Saxophone, Clarinet (2) * Justin Kurys - Viola * Sharon Lacey - Oboe * Ben Lance - Third Electric Guitar (3,10), Fifth Acoustic Guitar (6) * Will Landin - Tuba * Ephraim Owens - Trumpet * Phil Palazzolo - Duct Tape, Whistling, Additional Electric Guitar (5), Additional Piano (5), Sampler (10) * Sarah Pizzichemi - Violin * Brendan Ryan - Piano (5,11), Accordion (5) * Sara Scurry - Bassoon * Zachary Thomas - Second Bass (3,6,10) * Raul Vallejo - Trombone * Beth Wawerna - Vocals (3,4,7,11)


Charts


References


External links


Official website

Interview with Will Sheff
by ''
Spin Magazine ''Spin'' (stylized in all caps) is an American music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione, Jr. Now owned by Next Management Partners, the magazine is an online publication since it stopped issuing a print edition in 2012. Histor ...
''
Interview with Will Sheff
by ''Drowned in Sound'' {{Authority control 2011 albums Okkervil River albums Jagjaguwar albums