Okkervil River‘s latest album, The Stage Names, is a beautiful album. In “Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe” the guys build this rolling, crashing wave of sound to scream lyrics like “It was your heart hurting, but not for long, kid.” implying the big moments in life, like heartache, are maudlin and ordinary. The contrast of the lyrics and the music creates a delicious irony. The entire album explores similar themes of the success and the disappointment of living a normal life. The Stage Names reminds us of The Hold Steady‘s Boys and Girls in America; both albums contrast the ordinary and the epic, the broken and the transfigured.
From Okkervil River’s The Stage Names:
“Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe”
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From The Hold Steady’s Boys and Girls in America:
“First Night”
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