Okkervil River frontman Will Sheff took to Twitter today to announce the band’s first single “It Was My Season” off their seventh studio album, The Silver Gymnasium. This is the group’s first for ATO Records and it’s due out on September 3. Along with the song, Sheff also wrote an extensive post on their website discussing the visuals accompany the track, which center around an ancient hand-painted backdrop for a stage.
Painted in 1916 by Maxfield Parrish for a local play in the art colony town of Plainfield, New Hampshire, the local librarian Nancy Norwalk recently organized efforts to clean and restore the magnificent set, and it serves as a backdrop for the video. The painting seems to be quite important to the album’s total feeling, as Will’s tweets indicate that he’s composed it as a period piece.
“The Silver Gymnasium” takes place in 1986 in a small town in New Hampshire.
— Okkervil River (@okkervilriver) June 17, 2013
Aside from visuals, the sound of the song falls very much in line with Okkervil’s past work. Given that Sheff debuted his own electro-pop leaning solo project Lovestreams earlier this year, it was up for debate whether the folksy vibes of Okkervil River would stay the same. If this song is any indication, Sheff will be sticking with Okkervil’s legacy sound and only experiment with electronic sounds on his own.
Watch the new video above and read more about the historical painting on their website, also check out the band’s tour dates below.
08/24-25 Monterey, CA – First City Festival
9/07 Boston, MA – Boston Calling
9/19 Mobile, AL – Alabama Music Box
9/20 Tallahassee, FL – Club Downunder
9/21 Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse
9/23-24 Washington, DC – 09:30 Club
9/26 New York, NY – Terminal 5 *
9/27 Ithaca, NY – The Haunt
9/28 Toronto, Ontario – Phoenix Concert Theatre
9/29 Cleveland, OH – Beachland Ballroom
10/01 Nashville, TN – Mercy Lounge
10/02 Little Rock, AR – Revolution
10/04-13 Austin, TX – Austin City Limits Festival
10/18 El Paso, TX – Tricky Falls
10/19 Phoenix, AZ – The Crescent Ballroom
10/20 Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern
10/24 Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom
10/25 Seattle, WA – The Showbox
10/26 Vancouver, British Columbia – Rickshaw Theatre
11/01 Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
11/02 Chicago, IL – Metro
* with Pickwick, Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears
