Okkervil River: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

At first blush, Okkervil River is obviously a good rock ’n’ roll band, but listen closely — especially to its lyrics — and you’ll hear a great rock ’n’ roll band. The group has been making sharp, thoughtful music since the late ’90s, with the first of its seven albums coming out a dozen years ago. The songs in this Tiny Desk Concert are from The Silver Gymnasium, a record inspired by the childhood of 37-year-old singer-songwriter Will Sheff; he grew up a bespectacled, crooked-toothed redhead in the small New Hampshire town of Meriden. His lyrics are drenched in specific memories, pop-culture references and youthful insecurity. Look at these lines from “Down Down the Deep River“: Tell me ’bout the greatest show or the greatest movie you know Or the greatest song that you taped from off the radio Play it again and again — it cuts off at the ending, though Tell me I’m always gonna be your best friend Now you said it one time — why don’t you say it again? The stories pop a bit more in this acoustic set-up