Okkervil River

Just heard these guys for the first time today, and i was impressed.

Okkervil River is an indie folk band from Austin Texas. They formed in 1998, and take their name from a short story by Russian author Tatyana Tolstaya. Their first album "Stars Too Small To Use" was self released and recorded in a garage. The band has released a plethera of albums and although they have not made it huge, i think they are well on their way! The band has garnered positive critical reception. Especially noted are each song's lyrics, intricate instrumentation, and thematic albums. In addition, they were recently featured on the talk show Late Night with Conan O'brien and have performed with high profile bands such as the Decemberists (kick ass), The New Pornographers (Legit Legit), and Lou Reed (Yeah thats right... Lou Reed).


Okkervil River released their most recent album The Stand Ins on September 9th, 2008. They are promoting the release with a series of cover songs from the album on YouTube by people they've met as a band.

I suggest looking into these guys further. They will not dissapoint!