New Featured Artist: Okkervil River

photo credit: Jean-Marc Luneau

I'm not going to apologize for being absent for past month or so. I'm not even going to pretend that many of you are still reading this. I do however realize that Shelby at Shifted Sound has been so very supportive for the past month and I understand that I would basically be starting from scratch had it not been for his constant promotion of this little project here at A Better Offer. So if somehow you still read this blog and don't subscribe to Shifted Sound, it is your duty to do so.

Onto the music. I was turned onto the brilliance of Okkervil River from Jeff at Out With the Kids (another shameless plug) and I was instantly shocked that I had not heard their music before. In fact, here is an excerpt of the email I sent Jeff after he so kindly sent me their music...

Okay so I am a complete and utter failure when it comes to music. I've got somewhere in the neighborhood of 1500 cds and another 300 records or so, and throw in a couple hundred cassettes and countless downloads from the internet and somehow, someway, the sweet sounds of Okkervil River have never found their way to my ears. I am so utterly blown away by their music. It has been awhile since I have been so enamored with a band.

If you are wondering about their sound. My best description is that they fall somewhere between older Bright Eyes, Pavement, and a little Wolf Parade for good measure. Check out this track below to get you started and then check out the links to the right and download those MP3s and then buy everything you can find from them, because it is all amazing.

Okkervil River--Black