NEW YORK TIMES AND NPR MORNING EDITION HAIL OKKERVIL RIVER’S “MAJESTIC” ALBUM ‘THE SILVER GYMNASIUM’ (ATO), OUT NOW!
Over the weekend, the New York Times reported on a writer’s trip to the small town of Meriden, NH to explore the origins of Okkervil River‘s ‘The Silver Gymnasium’ (out now) with frontman Will Sheff. The Times called the album “an aural bildungsroman,” based around Sheff’s small-town childhood in the mid-’80s. Read the story, and go on a Sheff-guided video tour (nytimes link below).
NPR Morning Edition said the album was “full of majesty and wonder” while Dangerous Minds wrote it “just might herald the return of the storytelling singer-songwriter.” New York Magazine even named it one of their Five Most Anticipated albums of the fall in the latest issue. See more press quotes below.
To complement the songs, Okkervil River has released an 8-bit adventure video game, an interactive map (created with NPR Music), a video documenting Sheff’s high school bands, footage of him performing in his old high school gym – the inspiration for the album title – and more. Watch the video!
Okkervil River – School Bands video:
Okkervil River – Open Mic Night video:
Okkervil River’s tour begins later this month. See full dates below.
Press quotes on ‘The Silver Gymnasium’:
“[Full of] majesty and wonder” – NPR Morning Edition
Mixes “autobiography and sprawling ambition” – New York Magazine, “Five Most Anticipated Albums of the Fall”
“Some of their best material yet” – Esquire
“Floats warmly in the soft spots that separate childhood from adolescence” – NPR Music
“Imbues Springsteen-ish emotional pitch with a warm Norman Rockwell finish” – Alternative Press
‘The Silver Gymnasium just might herald the return of the storytelling singer-songwriter” – Dangerous Minds
“A rather beautiful experience.” – SPIN
“Okkervil River’s most mature album yet” – American Songwriter
“Triumphant” – Paste
“Each song on The Silver Gymnasium is like an artifact, with vivid childhood memories and references to ’80s pop culture sprinkled throughout” – USA Today
“As vital as any album in Okkervil River’s catalog” – Consequence of Sound
Okkervil River 2013 U.S. tour dates:
(Dates and information subject to change.)
9/06 – Boston, MA – Gilt City Boston @ Royale
9/07 – Boston, MA @ Boston Calling
9/19 – Mobile, AL @ Alabama Music Box
9/20 – Tallahassee, FL @ Club Downunder
9/21 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
9/23 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
9/26 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5 (w/ Pickwick and Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears)
9/27 – Ithaca, NY @ The Haunt
9/28 – Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theatre
9/29 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
10/1 – Nashville, TN @ Mercy Lounge
10/2 – Little Rock, AR @ Revolution
10/4 & 10/11 – Austin, TX @ Austin City Limits Festival
10/18 – El Paso, TX @ Tricky Falls
10/19 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Crescent Ballroom
10/20 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern
10/22 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore
10/24 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
10/25 – Seattle, WA @ The Showbox
10/26 – Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theatre
10/28 – Spokane, WA @ Knitting Factory
10/29 – Bozeman, MT @ The Filling Station
10/31 – Fargo, ND @ The Aquarium
11/01 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
11/02 – Chicago, IL @ Metro
11/03 – St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway 11/04 – Oklahoma City, OK @ ACM / UCO Performance Lab
Photo credit: Ben Sklar
Okkervil River Meriden, NH video tour on nytimes.com
Okkervil River’s 8-Bit Game, video on mashable.com
Growing Up in Meriden map on npr.org
For the latest tour dates and information, please go to:
Okkervil River Official Website