STEVE JOHNSON relishes a celebration of the commonality of folk music and its links with the struggles of working people the world over
Springsteenesque cacophonies and arresting musical vision
This week IAN SINCLAIR reviews albums by Okkervil River, The Flaming Lips, and Aisha Burns
This thriller is a politically charged and morally complex dive into climate activism and police repression, judges JENNY FARRELL
Cat show killer, avenging the pawns, women hunt the Ripper, and running dry in the outback
The Bard reflects on sharing a bed, and why he wont go to Chelsea
MARY CONWAY applauds a new play that foresees the unscrupulous tactics of a future far-right minority government
RON JACOBS is moved to tears by an eloquent journal of heartfelt intensity and human portraiture
ROBERT OVETZ recommends a case study, from the University of Leicester, in their struggle against precarization, AI, privatisation, outsourcing, and work intensification in higher education
Okkervil River
In the Rainbow Rain
(ATO Records)
★★★★
WHILE their last record was a largely subdued, introspective affair, US indie-rock band Okkervil River’s ninth album is a poppy and relatively bright set. “I hope it’s something fun that makes people feel happier,” says songwriter and lead singer Will Sheff.
As with their mid-2000s career high point, In the Rainbow Rain is full of Sheff’s dense lyrics, many verging on short stories.
More from this author
New releases from Steady Habits, Jeff Tweedy, and Tom Skinner
IAN SINCLAIR welcomes a lucid critique of a technology that reproduces and enables oppression, power, and environmental devastation
Reviews of new releases by Wednesday, Suede, and Nation of Language
Reviews of new releases by Jens Lekman, Big Thief, and Christian McBride Big Band
