Okkervil River - The Stand Ins (CD) - Amoeba Music

Artist: Okkervil River
Genre: Rock
Release Date: 10/27/2008
Label: Jagjaguwar
Catalog Number: 52124
Recording: Studio
Length:
Format: CD (1 Used)

Dig-Deeper

Artist Releases

The Stage Names [Limited Edition] (CD)
Okkervil River

Black Sheep Boy & Black Sheep Boy Appendix (2 Cd Set) (CD)
Okkervil River

Black Sheep Boy Appendix (CD)
Okkervil River

The Stand Ins (LP)
Okkervil River

I Am Very Far (CD)
Okkervil River

I Am Very Far (LP)
Okkervil River

Black Sheep Boy [Original Issue] (CD)
Okkervil River

Don't Fall In Love With Everyone You See (LP)
Okkervil River

The Stage Names (LP)
Okkervil River

The Stage Names (CD)
Okkervil River

Mermaid (12")
Okkervil River

Wake & Be Fine (7")
Okkervil River

View More

Label Releases

The Stage Names [Limited Edition] (CD)
Okkervil River

In the Future [Deluxe Edition] (CD)
Black Mountain

Black Sheep Boy & Black Sheep Boy Appendix (2 Cd Set) (CD)
Okkervil River

Black Sheep Boy Appendix (CD)
Okkervil River

For Emma, Forever Ago (CD)
Bon Iver

Black Mountain (CD)
Black Mountain

Blood Bank (CD)
Bon Iver

Random Spirit Lover (CD)
Sunset Rubdown

Dragonslayer (CD)
Sunset Rubdown

Farm (CD)
Dinosaur Jr.

Beast Moans (CD)
Swan Lake

Black Mountain (CD)
Black Mountain

View More

The Stand Ins (CD)

Okkervil River

SHIPS FREE in U.S.
(1 Used)

1 Used

Condition	Format	Price
Media Condition: Very Good CD Comments: Review If you can count worthwhile sequels on one hand, save a finger for The Stand Ins, 11 cuts recorded during the sessions for last year’s highly acclaimed The Stage Names (which was originally intended as a double album). Another discourse on the funhouse-mirror of celebrity, the unnatural existence of life on the road, and band-dom in general, Will Sheff’s astute and playful lyrics form their own torrent, rushing forth to match every note in dynamic, sometimes twangy rockers and thought-provoking ballads. The band is often clumsily lumped into the alt-country or Americana ghettos because they sometimes use pedal steel in their arrangements, but Okkervil’s music is far more ambitious and nuanced – the details are as seductive as the gut-wrenching directness. With no simplistic answers in their music, Okkervil shares more in common with Will Oldham’s complex intimacy and the unhinged passion of Neutral Milk Hotel. Like the latter’s Jeff Magnum, Sheff sings like he’s on fire and writes like a demon, reeling off cinematic images at projector speed with a seeming ease that belies the craftsmanship of his poetic word-play. After a brief opening interlude (one of three instrumental “Stand Ins”), Sheff and Shearwater pal Jonathan Meiburg deliver the rousing duet “Lost Coastlines,” whose line “Is that marionette real enough yet to step off of that set to decide what her dance might be doing?” could serve as this project’s thesis statement. Normally when bands start bemoaning their celebrated lives it’s a sure sign they’ve bought into their own bullshit and leapt over the celebrity shark below. But Sheff mixes first-person P.O.V. with intricate narrative devices so well – he even reprises the TSN role of porn star/suicide Shannon Wilsey here on “Shannon Smiles” -- it’s nearly impossible to tell where he ends and the characters begin. Mostly, though, he knows we’re all playing roles, including him. -John Schacht		Buy $7.99

User Reviews

Overall Rating 0 Submissions