Will Sheff & Charles Bissell – Will Sheff Covers Charles Bissell/ Charles Bissell Covers Will Sheff
Jagjaguar, 2008
Acquired: Love Garden, New, 2008
Price: $5
I remember doing a backflip when I heard this split 7” was
happening. I mean, not a literal backflip—I’m a schlubby music critic, after
all—but a geeky, nerd-brain backflip. Will Sheff of Okkervil River and Charles
Bissell of the Wrens are two of my absolute favorite songwriters and that’s not
even hyperbole. I think The Meadowlands is
a master class in songwriting and still one of the freshest sounding rock
records from the last twenty years. Sheff continues to hone his craft album
after album and just the other day “Plus Ones” from The Stage Names came on in the car and I made Jenny stop talking so
I could point out the brilliance of the songcraft. That didn’t go over
well—shushing your wife never, ever does, especially to point out something
only you find interesting—but these guys bring out my indie rock nerd. It seems
strange that I haven’t listened to this 7” since the day I bought it, the day
it came out way back in 2008. It’s helpful that both artists cover standouts
from each other’s discography. Sheff’s rendition of Bissell’s “Ex-Girl
Collection” is straightforward but dripping with Sheff’s personal affection for
the track. “She pours herself a don’t-ask gin/ No ice and light on the bitters/
I’m through with quitters/ Why?/ Cause I found out/ Wipe that smile off your
mouth/ I think it’s tell-me time,” is one of my favorite lyrics from anywhere
and, as someone who has spent the majority of his adult life dwelling on
ex-girlfriends (until I got married, of course), it speaks to me. The
storytelling is just so, so choice. Bissell’s version of Sheff’s “It Ends in a
Fall” (from Okkervil River’s Down the
River of Golden Dreams) is hazy, hushed, and plays like it could be a Wrens
track (although that’s mostly thanks to Bissell’s iconic guitar tones, which
you can seriously pick out of a line-up). The track has a wonderful crescendo
and damnit, more artists I love need to cover each other’s best songs.
"Ex-Girl Collection"
"It Ends in a Fall"
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