I woke up this morning to find that Pitchforkgave Okkervil River's new album 8.7 out of 10, and put it in its "Best New Music" section.

Simply put: I have no idea what sort of logic the reviewer utilized, nor do I know what hallucinogenic drugs he was employing when listening to this album. Either the drugs and the logic distorted our views by about 180 degrees or we listened to two completely different albums, however, because this is NOT among the best new releases of 2007.

Don't get me wrong - I love Okkervil River. One may even go as far as saying that I am in love with Okkervil River. If Will Sheff knocked on my door and asked me to marry him, I would not even go back up the stairs to pack my things - I would simply remember how good "Black Sheep Boy" was and proceed to gleefully skip toward the sunset with my new fiance. However, this album is a huge let down.

Yes, there are some good points:

-Plus Ones is amazing
-The first two tracks are really good
-Um...I like how they carry the "Plus Ones" theme in different places throughout the record? Maybe this is a stretch.

However, in my mind the bad overwhelms the good. When it comes down to it, there are only 3 songs out of 9 that I care to listen to. Also, a note to every band in the world: If you feel like you really need to cover "Sloop John B," then for the love of all that is good and holy, release it as a B-side on some single somewhere and don't sandwich it inside another song.

In conclusion: I have no idea how this album got an 8.7 when Bishop Allen's most recent record got a 6.0.

Conclusion #2: I need to stop reading Pitchfork record reviews.