When last we checked in with Okkervil River’s Will Sheff, the Austin singer-songwriter was hanging out with the legendary Steve Earle after releasing 2011’s delightfully knotty I Am Very Far. He’s finally got a seventh album on deck — The Silver Gymnasium, due September 3 via ATO — and now we have the first song to sample. “It Was My Season” is strikingly forward, powered by big piano-play and Sheff’s cracking, aching voice. “Step out of your trailer and into this dark,” he sings as the drums pick up to support an almost Ben Folds-y lilt, offset by a little Americana shade, of course.
For the lyric video above, Okkervil highlight a local landmark from Sheff’s New Hampshire childhood. As he explains on the project’s website, in 1919, artist Maxfield Parrish painted a stage set at a Plainfield playhouse that’s since been moved to the burg’s town hall. In 1990, librarian Nancy Norwalk initiated a campaign to restore the thing to its original glory. One of the set’s key features is its ability to, through lighting, represent the entire span of a day. In the clip above, we see Norwalk herself simulating the rising and setting of the sun. It’s a rather beautiful experience.
Okkervil River tour dates:
August 24-25 – Monterey, CA @ First City Festival
September 07 – Boston, MA @ Boston Calling
September 19 – Mobile, AL @ Alabama Music Box
September 20 – Tallahassee, FL @ Club Downunder
September 21 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
September 23-24 – Washington, DC @ 09:30 Club
September 26 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5
September 27 – Ithaca, NY @ The Haunt
September 28 – Toronto, Ontario @ Phoenix Concert Theatre
September 29 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
October 01 – Nashville, TN @ Mercy Lounge
October 02 – Little Rock, AR @ Revolution
October 04-13 – Austin, TX @ Austin City Limits Festival
October 18 – El Paso, TX @ Tricky Falls
October 19 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Crescent Ballroom
October 20 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern
October 24 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
October 25 – Seattle, WA @ The Showbox
October 26 – Vancouver, British Columbia @ Rickshaw Theatre
November 01 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
November 02 – Chicago, IL @ Metro