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album review
Okkervil River's 2007 almost-masterpiece Stage Names presented a vivid dissection of the "Silver Screen," both literally and metaphorically as filtered through the crowded, cerebral library of bandleader (and one-time film student) Will Sheff. 2008's Stand Ins doesn't just complement Stage Names (which was originally conceived as a two-disc package), it completes it. Opening with the first of three mini-instrumentals that sound like a mash-up of Bill Frisell's Nashville and Radiohead's Kid A, Stand Ins revisits many of the central themes (loneliness, failure, hero worship, and broken love) that bounced around the set of Stage Names. Songs like "Lost Coastlines" (a duet with former member and current Shearwater main man Jonathan Meiburg), with its Motown bassline, copious "la, la, la's," and "Old West" horn section, "Blue Tulip" with its slow-burn build and explosive finale, and "Singer Songwriter" with its lament that "This thing you once did might have dazzled the kids/but the kids once grown up are going to walk away" are all instant Okkervil classics, but it's the nearly six-minute closer that seals the deal. Like "John Allyn Smith Sails," Stage Names' ode to doomed poet John Berryman, "Bruce Wayne Campbell Interviewed on the Roof of the Chelsea Hotel, 1979," a tribute to gay glam rock icon Jobriath, who was adored and then devoured by the press in the mid-'70s before dying of AIDS in 1983 a poor lounge act, presents its subject as tragic, misunderstood, and buried beneath the weight of his accomplishments. It's a subject that suits Sheff's writing style well, flowing out like an Americana version of something off of Scott Walker's self-penned fourth album. Stand Ins glows a little less bright than its predecessor, but it shines nonetheless. There may be nothing as immediately satisfying as "Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe," "Plus Ones," or "Girl in Port," but it offers a more streamlined ride than Stage Names, wasting very little time trying to squeeze every last bit of scarlet pulp from the blood orange. ~ James Christopher Monger, All Music Guide
more albums by this artist
See all-
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- The Stage Names
- Released 2007
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- Black Sheep Boy
- Released 2005
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- Don't Fall In Love With Everyone You See
- Released 2002
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- Down the River of Golden Dreams
- Released 2003
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listener reviews
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Best of '08: Okkervil River
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- By Aimz54901
- 3/31/2009 02:14:23
- Okkervil River was big cheaters on this album. Most of it was recorded at the same time that they recorded The Stage Names (2007), so naturally this album is more of the same, which is a very, very good thing. But since they released two albums instead of one double album, they (presumably) sold twice as many albums and toured twice as much in support of these albums. The music business is rough, and you gotta do what you gotta do. I was just happy to see them live twice in 2008 (and twice in 2007), as they are one of the best live acts going today. My big issue with this album is the crappy instrumentals, which I call The Fill-Ins. But those three are less than a minute long each. The rest of the album contains eight very solid indie rock tunes.
Standout Tracks: "Lost Coastlines," "Pop Lie," "Calling and Not Calling My Ex" - 0 out of 1 people
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The Stand Ins
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- By nuclearGIRLY
- 1/24/2009 02:28:09
- Okkervil River has really stunned me to silence with this album. The first song I heard from the album was "Lost Coastlines", where Will meets Johnathon, with a touch of up-beat sadness. The second song I decided to listen to was "Calling & Not Calling My Ex", with the bells & a melodic drum beat would make anyone melt. A song about a lost love, that's regretted yet not. One of the things I love about Okkervil River is that you have to read between the lines with their songs. Whether it's from "Don't Fall In Love with Everyone You See" to "The Stand Ins"; they never let down nor do they refuse to provoke thought & feeling in all of us. I think everyone will enjoy this album, just start out with whatever tickles your fancy! Thank you Okkervil River for another AWESOME album!
-Holly - 2 out of 2 people
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great disc!! great artist!
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- By dO80
- 1/6/2009 15:20:48
- fantastic!
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