Okkervil River

These former New England high-school friends came together in 1999 to play their own brand of scruffy folk-rock, and had been releasing well-received albums on the respected indie label Jagjaguwar since 2002, but it was with the release of BLACK SHEEP BOY in 2005 that the band's reputation grew. An original song cycle built around a cover of Tim Hardin's classic tune, the album is a spiky, sparks-giving confluence of frontman and primary member Will Sheff's anguished vocals and haunting, sometimes delicate, punk-folk tunes that tell the story of an outcast's redemption. It topped critics' lists, was followed by an "appendix" EP that furthered the theme, and established Okkervil River as a serious songwriting outfit.

• rock
• 2000s