Okkervil River

Hiphop and electronica figure prominently on our year end lists, but let's not forget our unabashed love of sweet rock n' roll. The Islands may be quirky goodness, but Austin's Okkervil River gives it straight up. Aside from some stellar songwriting, the band also has it's own peculiar sense of humour, as witnessed with their videos for their new album The Stand-Ins, made up exclusively of footage of their friends re-recording covers of all the songs. All of the videos are available on YouTube, and include the likes of A.C. Newman (shown here).



Not to be outdone, Tokyo Police Club, with their album Elephant Shell, has also been filling our sweet tooth musical cravings.

Music Update

Here's a quick rundown on what we've been listening to:

The new Okkervil River, The Stand-Ins, has been on steady play lately, despite it's unexpected polish. The album art makes us think mid-period Social Distortion, but the song-writing belies a much stronger pop sensibility.

 

The Streets, Everything Is Borrowed, is causing something of a stir, as half the office is finding it a brilliant mixture of self-awareness and retro-style beats. The other half claims it as sappy platitudes over cheesy muzak. Bring on the cage match.

Surprisingly, Sloan's Parallel Play has only managed to get on air twice, as it's polished pop seems somewhat less so when stacked next to Okkervil River. 

Or, perhaps it's because certain elements have fallen in love with the Minutemen and Gang of Four again and are holding our radios hostage. 

There are worse things that could happen, we suppose.