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The Silver Gymnasium

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The Silver Gymnasium
Studio album by
Okkervil River
ReleasedSeptember 3, 2013 (2013-09-03)
GenreIndie rock, folk rock
Length49:04
LabelATO
ProducerJohn Agnello
Okkervil River chronology
Golden Opportunities 2
(2011) 		The Silver Gymnasium
(2013) 		Golden Opportunities 3
(2013)

The Silver Gymnasium is the seventh album by American indie rock band Okkervil River, released on September 3, 2013. It is the band's first release after signing to ATO Records, and their first album not released through Jagjaguwar.

Overview

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The Silver Gymnasium was first announced in June 2013, its name revealed letter-by-letter via the band's website.[1] The record is a concept album which takes place in lead-singer Will Sheff's home-town of Meriden, New Hampshire in 1986. Sheff conceived the album as a tribute to the spirit of pre-adolescence, meant to evoke the nostalgic feeling of, in his words "an action figure you found in the woods."[2] The album's title is taken from the Charles Lewis Silver Memorial Gymnasium found in Meriden's Kimball Union Academy, the boarding school that Sheff attended.[3]

Reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.4/10[4]
Metacritic78/100[5]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
Alternative Press[7]
American Songwriter[8]
The A.V. ClubB+[9]
The Guardian[10]
Mojo[11]
NME7/10[12]
Pitchfork6.8/10[13]
Q[14]
Uncut8/10[15]

The album has been given a Metacritic rating of 78 out of 100 based on 32 critics, indicating generally favorable reviews.[5] At Alternative Press, Chris Parker called the album "Often dark, but strangely triumphant."[7]

The album charted at No. 66 on Billboard 200,[16] and No. 7 on the Billboard Tastemaker album chart,[17] selling 5,800 copies in the first week. The album has sold 22,000 copies in the United States as of August 2016.[18]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Will Sheff

No.TitleLength
1."It Was My Season"4:26
2."On a Balcony"3:04
3."Down Down the Deep River"6:32
4."Pink-slips"3:39
5."Lido Pier Suicide Car"5:31
6."Where the Spirit Left Us"3:47
7."White"3:06
8."Stay Young"4:19
9."Walking Without Frankie"5:00
10."All the Time Every Day"4:36
11."Black Nemo"4:58

Bonus tracks

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  • "Do the Crawl (CBS October 22, 1988)" – 4:43 Vinyl exclusive
  • "From a Cutlass Cruiser" – 3:40 Vinyl exclusive

Charts

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Chart (2013) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[19] 66
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[20] 15
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[21] 20
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[22] 7

References

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  1. ^ "ATO Records". atorecords.com. 2013-06-20.
  2. ^ "ATO Records". atorecords.com. 2013-07-01.
  3. ^ "Kimball Union Academy". www.kua.org.
  4. ^ "The Silver Gymnasium by Okkervil River reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  5. ^ a b "Reviews for The Silver Gymnasium by Okkervil River". Metacritic. Retrieved September 6, 2013.
  6. ^ Monger, James Christopher. "The Silver Gymnasium – Okkervil River". AllMusic. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
  7. ^ a b Parker, Chris (October 2013). "Okkervil River: The Silver Gymnasium". Alternative Press (303): 92. ISSN 1065-1667.
  8. ^ Magnuson, Eric (August 29, 2013). "Okkervil River: The Silver Gymnasium". American Songwriter. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
  9. ^ Rytlewski, Evan (September 3, 2013). "Okkervil River: The Silver Gymnasium". The A.V. Club. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
  10. ^ Costa, Maddy (September 26, 2013). "Okkervil River: The Silver Gymnasium – review". The Guardian. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
  11. ^ "Okkervil River: The Silver Gymnasium". Mojo (240): 88. November 2013.
  12. ^ Snapes, Laura (September 27, 2013). "Okkervil River – 'The Silver Gymnasium'". NME. Archived from the original on October 3, 2013. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
  13. ^ Deusner, Stephen M. (September 3, 2013). "Okkervil River: The Silver Gymnasium". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
  14. ^ "Okkervil River: The Silver Gymnasium". Q (327): 109. October 2013.
  15. ^ Mueller, Andrew (22 October 2013). "Okkervil River – The Silver Gymnasium". Uncut. Archived from the original on 8 May 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  16. ^ "Billboard 200". Billboard.
  17. ^ "Tastemaker Albums". Billboard.
  18. ^ "Upcoming Releases". Hits Daily Double. HITS Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on August 29, 2016.
  19. ^ "Okkervil River Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  20. ^ "Okkervil River Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard.
  21. ^ "Okkervil River Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard.
  22. ^ "Okkervil River Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard.
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