In the Rainbow Rain is the ninth studio album by American indie band Okkervil River. The album was released on ATO Records on April 27, 2018.[13]

In the Rainbow Rain
Studio album by
ReleasedApril 27, 2018 (2018-04-27)
Length48:49
LabelATO Records
Producer
Okkervil River chronology
Away
(2016)
In the Rainbow Rain
(2018)
A Dream in the Dark: Two Decades of Okkervil River Live
(2020)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?6.5/10[1]
Metacritic68/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Drowned in Sound7/10[4]
Exclaim!6/10[5]
God Is in the TV7/10[6]
The Line of Best Fit6.5/10[7]
MusicOMH[8]
Paste7.8/10[9]
Pitchfork6.9/10[10]
PopMatters7/10[11]
Slant Magazine[12]

Release

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On February 12, 2018, Okkervil River announced the release of their new album for April 27, 2018, alongside the first single "Don't Move Back to L.A.".[14] On March 20, 2018, the second single "Pulled Up The Ribbon" was released, along with a music video.[15] The music video features Sarah Pedinotti. On April 11, 2018, the band released the music video for "Don't Move Back to L.A.".[16] The third single "Famous Tracheotomies" was released on April 16, 2018.[17][18]

Critical reception

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In the Rainbow Rain was met with "generally favorable" reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 68, based on 18 reviews.[2] Aggregator Album of the Year gave the release a 66 out of 100 based on a critical consensus of 16 reviews.[19]

Track listing

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Standard edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Famous Tracheotomies"4:55
2."The Dream and the Light"
  • Sheff
6:49
3."Love Somebody"
  • Sheff
  • Benjamin Lazar Davis
  • Will Graefe
4:13
4."Family Song"
  • Sheff
5:10
5."Pulled up the Ribbon"
  • Sheff
4:11
6."Don't Move Back to L.A."
  • Sheff
4:38
7."Shelter Song"
  • Graeffe
  • Sheff
4:59
8."How It Is"
  • Sheff
3:34
9."External Actor"
  • Sheff
4:08
10."Human Being Song"
  • Sheff
6:12
Total length:48:49

Personnel

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Okkervil River

Additional musicians

  • Brittany Anjouglockenspiel (track 3), vibraphone (7)
  • Simone Appleby – backing vocals (tracks 1–3, 7, 10)
  • Leslie Gardner – backing vocals (1–3, 7, 10)
  • Cole Kamen–Green – trumpet (tracks 2, 8, 9), mellophone (2, 9), vocals (8)
  • Chris Kyle – electric guitar (tracks 1, 10)
  • Frank LoCrasto – Wurlitzer (tracks 1, 3); grand piano, tack piano (3); Fender Rhodes (4, 7, 10), ARP synthesizer (7)
  • Joe McGinty – synthesizer programming
  • Jonathan Meiburg – vocals (tracks 1–3, 6, 8)
  • Rob Moose – string arrangements, violin, viola (tracks 1, 10)
  • David Nagler – Roland 2000 synthesizer (track 1)
  • Clinton Newman – electric guitar (track 1)
  • Phil Palazzolo – piano (track 4)
  • Jared Samuel – piano (track 2), Hammond organ (5, 6)
  • A Snaggletooth Tiger – horn arrangements
  • Alex Spiegelman – saxophone (tracks 2, 4, 8), flute (2, 4, 9), vocals (8), clarinet (9)
  • Saundra Williams – backing vocals (tracks 1–3, 7)

Technical

  • Rich Bennett – additional engineering
  • William Bigwood – additional engineering
  • Charles Burst – additional engineering
  • Shawn Everettmixing
  • Bob Ludwigmastering
  • Matt Murphy – additional engineering
  • Sam Griffin Owens – additional engineering
  • Phil Palazzolo – engineering
  • Oliver Straus – additional engineering
  • Ivan Wayman – additional engineering, mixing assistance

Visuals

  • A Horse with No Name – photography
  • Jeremy Miranda – cover painting
  • Daniel Murphy – design

Charts

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Chart performance for In the Rainbow Rain
Chart (2018) Peak
position
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[20] 93
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[21] 15
US Vinyl Albums (Billboard)[22] 16

References

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  1. ^ "AnyDecentMusic? Review". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Metacritic Review". Metacritic. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  3. ^ Monger, James Christopher. "AllMusic Review". AllMusic. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  4. ^ Bertok, Nina (April 27, 2018). "Drowned in Sound review". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on July 29, 2020. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  5. ^ Sylvester, Daniel (April 23, 2018). "Exclaim! Review". Exclaim!. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  6. ^ Spithray, Steve (April 20, 2018). "God Is in the TV Review". God Is in the TV. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  7. ^ Horton, Ross (April 27, 2018). "Okkervil River put the heart back in heartbreak on In the Rainbow Rain". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  8. ^ Shepherd, Sam (April 27, 2018). "MusicOMH Review". MusicOMH. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  9. ^ Zimmerman, Lee (April 27, 2018). "Okkervil River: In The Rainbow Rain Review". Paste. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  10. ^ Shoup, Brad (May 16, 2018). "Pitchfork Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  11. ^ Whitelock, Ed (May 2, 2018). "Okkervil River's 'In the Rainbow Rain' Feels Like a Musical Renewal for Will Sheff". PopMatters. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  12. ^ Goller, Josh (April 23, 2018). "Slant Magazine Review". Slant Magazine. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  13. ^ "Okkervil River on Autobiographical Song 'Famous Tracheotomies': 'There's Certainly a Gratitude for Being Alive'". Billboard. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  14. ^ Sodomsky, Sam (February 12, 2018). "Okkervil River Announce New Album, Share New Song "Don't Move Back to LA"". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  15. ^ Birnstengel, Grace (March 20, 2018). "Okkervile River's Second Single". Stereogum. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  16. ^ Breihan, Tom (April 11, 2018). "Okkervil River New Music Video". Stereogum. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  17. ^ DeVille, Chris (April 16, 2018). "Okkervil River Third Single". Stereogum. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  18. ^ Roberts, Christopher (April 16, 2018). "Okkervil River Share New Song "Famous Tracheotomies"". Under the Radar. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  19. ^ "Album of the Year Review". Album of the Year. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  20. ^ "Okkervil River Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  21. ^ "Okkervil River Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  22. ^ "Okkervil River Chart History (Vinyl Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
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