Insound LP+MP3! Purchase the vinyl format of Black Sheep Boy and you'll receive a link to download the MP3s for free immediately after check-out!

VINYL FORMAT. Black Sheep Boy is Okkervil River's most ambitious and cinematic record yet, a love story and adult fable that evokes the mature songcraft of Leonard Cohen's 'New Skin for the Old Ceremony', the sophistication of Scott Walker's 'Scott 4', the shambling slow-motion bravado of Neil Young's 'On the Beach', and the raw nerves and trick effects of Big Star's 'Third/Sister Lovers'. It also occasionally echoes Lou Reed's 'Transformer' in that it is actually the band's most playful and confident record by far, delighting in linguistic games, scrapping all caution and reserve, reveling equally in sheer pop, lacerating rock and roll, and straight-up country weepers.