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

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

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 bega ...

. Released on January 22, 2002 on the label

Jagjaguwar Jagjaguwar is an American independent record label based in Bloomington, Indiana. History In 1996, in Charlottesville, Virginia, University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public resear ...

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

William Schaff William J. Schaff Jr. is an American 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. Elis ...

, not to be confused with lead singer

Will Sheff Will Robinson 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 b ...

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

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

pedal steel The pedal steel guitar is a console steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings, enabling more varied and complex music to be played than with other steel guitar designs. Like all steel guitars, it can play ...

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 causes a length of magnetic tape to contact a Capstan (tape recorder), capstan, which pulls i ...

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 in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

, 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 term ...

s. The

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

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 conten ...

"Westfall" stems from Sheff's recollections of the Yogurt Shop Murders, four grotesque murders of teenage girls in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

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 Jonathan Albert Meiburg is an American musician and writer, best known as the lead singer and songwriter for Shearwater (band), Shearwater. Early life and education Meiburg was born in Baltimore, Maryland on March 1, 1976. His father, Stan Meib ...

– 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 music, outsider, Lo-fi music, lo-fi, and alternative rock, alternative music scenes. Most ...

– 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