HOME

REVIEWS

- RSS Feed

SoundsXP Presents

tba

On Our iPod

Weird Dreams - Choreography (album)

Crocodiles - Sunday (Psychic Conversation #9) 7”

The Hairs - I’ve Been Working Out 7”

King Creosote and Jon Hopkins - Third Swan single

Cate Le Bon - Cyrk (album)

Tashaki Miyaki - sings the Everly Brothers 7”

Antony Harding - The Birds Sing Goodnight To You And Me (album)

Veronica Falls - My Heart Beats 7”

Latest Forum Posts

Gig Review

Okkervil River/ Singing Adams
Heaven, London

Article written by Ged M - May 31, 2011

Will Sheff rather overuses the name of the venue (“I’m in heaven!”) to communicate his pleasure that Okkervil River are playing a full gig rather than countless promotional spots but it’s clear that they’re in their natural habitat on stage. Although they’re still a band that wears their intelligence on their sleeve, with Sheff giving a detailed lecture as an introduction to ‘John Allyn Smith Sails’, they’ve clearly sold their souls to rock’n’roll. ‘The Valley’, which kicks off both the new album and tonight’s show, is Springsteen-boisterous and even more febrile than on record, while the hyperventilating ‘Our Life Is Not A Movie’, ‘For Real’ and encore ‘Unless It’s Kicks’ inspire the nearest thing to a mosh that you’ll find at an Okkervil River gig. The songs are extracted from the last four records, with the earliest selection tonight, ‘A Stone’ occupying that traditional mid-set slot where Sheff takes it down with just Lauren Gurgiolo accompanying him on pedal steel. The new record is well represented, of course, showing a broader palette of sounds and ideas, including the almost funky ‘Piratess’ and the tropical swaying rhythms of ‘Your Past Life As a Blast’. Will Sheff is always as curious a frontman as Jarvis Cocker, and seems now to have employed Jarv as his stylist, but the charm is as geeky and genuine as our Steel City hero ever was, someone who’s as much the fan as the performer. It’s that quirky appeal that will keep them grounded even as their sound becomes more epic and stadium-sized.

Support comes from Singing Adams, who don’t work as well at first beneath Heaven’s cavernous, disco-friendly arches. Thankfully the soundman realises this isn’t some hi-NRG electrodisco campery and the sound becomes more balanced. I’m wary not to repeat myself when describing Singing Adams so I’ll just say that overall it sparkles with wry humour and killer melodies. They don’t sound like any of the bands they were in before, they gel brilliantly together but are in no way polished, and Adams sings with a mix of David Berman-like introspection and laugh-out-loud levity. It’s art-rock on the comedy channel, fun and entertaining but with an edge to the tunes. The cavern of a venue means that this isn’t their best show, but they’re still great to watch.

Links:
http://www.okkervilriver.com/
http://www.singingadams.com/