Pitchfork

Front page photo by Jean-Marc Luneau

The mighty Okkervil River rages on this summer with the August 7 release of The Stage Names, the Austin outfit's fifth album of irascible folk-pop (if you count the self-released, not-quite-LP-long, not-quite-EP-short 2000 set Stars Too Small to Use).

Longtime River bed Jagjaguwar will serve up the nine track affair, and judging from a cursory glance over the tracklist (which we've kindly reprinted below), we'll leap to the conclusion that The Stage Names deals with any number of perennial rockstar topics: the high price of fame, the masks we wear when presenting ourselves before others, the meta-points one scores by naming a song "Title Track" (which joins a catalog that already includes "No Hidden Track", no less), and so forth.

Okkervil recorded the album in their Austin hometown with Brian Beattie, who also helmed the last two LPs. Spoon's Jim Eno had the pleasure of mixing Stage Names, while the album artwork you see up there once again comes courtesy of Okkervil's visual-renderer of choice, William Schaff (not to be confused with Okkervil's frontman, William Sheff)-- although we're taken aback slightly by the complete and utter lack of gnarly creatures with horns.

In anticipation of the Black Sheep Boy follow-up, Okkervil River-- recently hand-picked to open a gig for one Lou Reed-- have but three summer engagements lined up (including an HIV/AIDS benefit and Sheff's first in his native New Hampshire). Given they're aware of what a live treat they can be, we suspect they'll tack more dates onto that itinerary forthright.

The Stage Names:

01 Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe
02 Unless It's Kicks
03 A Hand to Take Hold of the Scene
04 Savannah Smiles
05 Plus Ones
06 A Girl in Port
07 You Can't Hold the Hand of a Rock and Roll Man
08 Title Track
09 John Allyn Smith Sails

The stage dates:

05-19 Somerset, England - Butlins Minehead (ATP Vs the Fans)
06-10 Seattle, WA - Neumos (Noise for the Needy benefit)
07-14 Concord, NH - Capitol Center for the Arts *

* with Lando, Ron Noyes Band