Okkervil River: The Stand Ins

Okkervil River: The Stand Ins Before I get into this review, I have a confession to make. I never listened to an Okkervil River album before The Stand Ins. I don't live in a cave so I've heard "Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe" but that is the extent of my experiences with Okkervil River. Doing my standard pre-review research I was a little shocked to see that the Stand Ins is the band's fifth album. I had never heard of them before last year's the Stage Names. For those unfamiliar with the band, Okkervil River is an indie rock band from Austin, TX. Originally the Stage Names and the Stand Ins were intended for release as a double album but were broken up into two albums. The Stage Names sold 10,000 albums its first week. Now, its follow up and companion piece seek to make the same impact. This album like its predecessor deals with the imagery of life as a movie. Singer/songwriter William Sheff describes the album's concept as "this idea of living in a world of pop culture history, high art history and low art history, full of images that are extremely common and meaningful to people but are essentially empty and disembodied. I wanted the record to exist in a universe of reference of signals, signs and bullshit." Although that sounds quite pompous and fairly unappealing the album is anything but. The album is quite accessible. Combining elements of alt-country and indie rock combined with unique instrumentation makes the Stand Ins a compelling listen. For the most part the album keeps a certain energy. "Blue Tulip" is by far the slowest song on the album. It's plodding tempo and six-minute-plus stature make it a painful listen. They follow "Blue Tulip" with "Pop Lie" which has the most manic energy of any song on the album. My biggest problem with the album is its time. The album contains 11 tracks. Three of those tracks are intros and interludes, which means the album actually contains 8 tracks. Of those eight tracks, I think 5 of them are really good, one is so-so, and two are throw-away tracks in my mind. In the end, the album is good. I'm fairly impressed but cheating the consumer by having them pay LP money for a glorified EP is a little weak in my mind. Rating: 7.8/10 MP3: Okkervil River "Pop Lie" Buy:iTunes, Insound