Okkervil River leader Will Sheff has announced his debut solo album: Nothing Special is set for release on October 7 via ATO Records. The LP was recorded with Sheff’s Okkervil River bandmates Will Graefe and Benjamin Lazar Davis, as well as singer-songwriter Christian Lee Hutson, Dawes drummer Griffin Goldsmith, and Death Cab For Cutie pianist Zac Ra. It was engineered over the course of three separate sessions by John Congleton, Matt Linesch, and Marshall Vore, and features guest vocals from Cassandra Jenkins and Eric D. Johnson. Check out lead single ‘Estrangement Zone’ below, along with the album cover and tracklist.
“When I was just a kid, I got caught up in the dream of being a rock and roll star, Sheff said in a statement about the album. “Like so many other young people, I fell in love with the idea of being called to this glorious path outside of ordinary life. And I ended up in a band with people who felt this same call – especially our brilliant drummer Travis Nelsen, who was like a brother to me. We would trade tales of hilarious antics and outrageous excess and tragic death like they were almost scripture. Travis and I fell out painfully, and he died in the early weeks of lockdown. I think a big part of Nothing Special centers around grieving for him, grieving for everything my friends have lost, grieving for the rock and rock and roll myth, and trying to open my eyes to a more transcendent reality.”
‘Estrangement Zone’ comes with a video directed by Johnny North. “I think of the ‘Estrangement Zone’ video as a kind of magical spell the crew and I were trying to cast — a parable about endings and beginnings happening simultaneously,” Sherrif remarked.
Nothing Special Cover Artwork:
Nothing Special Tracklist:
1. The Spiral Season
2. In The Thick Of It
3. Estrangement Zone
4. Nothing Special
5. Holy Man
6. Like The Last Time
7. Marathon Girl
8. Evidence
