''The Stand Ins'' is the fifth full-length studio album by American

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band

Okkervil River Okkervil River is an American rock band led by singer-songwriter Will Sheff. Formed in Austin, Texas, in 1998, the band takes its name from a short story by Russian author Tatyana Tolstaya set on the river Okkervil in Saint Petersburg. They bega ...

, released on September 9, 2008.Okkervil River Reveal Full Details of The Stand Ins
(Pitchfork Media) The album is the second half of ''

The Stage Names ''The Stage Names'' is the fourth full-length studio album by American indie rock band Okkervil River (band), Okkervil River, released on August 7, 2007. The album was recorded in Austin, Texas, with longtime Okkervil producer Brian Beattie, and w ...

'', a planned double album. The title comes from the term '

stand-in A stand-in for film and television is a person who substitutes for the actor before filming, for technical purposes such as lighting and camera setup. Stand-ins are helpful in the initial processes of film and television production. Stand-ins a ...

', a person who substitutes for the actor before filming for technical purposes. If the

cover art Cover art is a type of artwork presented as an illustration or photograph on the outside of a published product such as a book (often on a dust jacket), magazine, newspaper ( tabloid), comic book, video game (box art), music album (album art), ...

for ''The Stage Names'' is placed above that of ''The Stand-Ins'', a complete picture is formed. The album charted at #42 with 11,000 copies sold, according to the ''Billboard'' 200.

Shearwater Shearwaters are medium-sized long-winged seabirds in the petrel family Procellariidae The family Procellariidae is a group of seabirds that comprises the fulmarine petrels, the gadfly petrels, the diving petrels, the prions, and the shearwa ...

Jonathan Meiburg Jonathan Meiburg is an American musician and writer, best known as the lead singer and songwriter for Shearwater. Biography Meiburg was born in Baltimore, Maryland on March 1, 1976. His father, Stan Meiburg, was an influential environmental pol ...

and guitarist Charles Bissell of

The Wrens The Wrens were an American indie rock band from New Jersey. The group consisted of Charles Bissell (guitar/vocals), brothers Greg Whelan (guitar/vocals) and Kevin Whelan (bass/vocals), and Jerry MacDonald (drums). They released three albums; a fo ...

contributed to the album.

Overview

Conceived as a companion piece to ''

'', ''The Stand Ins'' continued the band's preoccupation with pop culture, celebrity suicide, and life as a musician. The track "Lost Coastlines," which features a duet with

, deals with trying to keep the band together despite the band's constant touring. "Starry Stairs" depicts the life and suicide of porn star

Shannon Wilsey Shannon Michelle Wilsey (October 9, 1970 – July 11, 1994), better known by her stage name Savannah, was an American pornographic film actress who starred in over 100 videos during her career. One of the most prominent adult industry models of ...

.Howe, Sean
The Stand Ins Review

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

. 16 September 2008. Retrieved 20 June 2011 The final track on ''The Stand Ins,'' "Bruce Wayne Campbell Interviewed on the Roof of the Chelsea Hotel, 1979," details the career and disillusionment of glam rock musician Bruce Wayne Campbell (better known as

Jobriath Bruce Wayne Campbell (December 14, 1946 – August 3, 1983), known by his stage name Jobriath, was an American rock musician and actor. He was the first openly gay rock musician to be signed to a major record label, and one of the first in ...

).Monger, James
The Stand Ins - Okkervil River

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

. Retrieved 20 June 2011

Reception

''The Stand Ins'' has received positive reviews. The album currently has a score of 78 out of 100 on the review aggregate site

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, indicating "Generally favorable reviews."Critic Reviews for The Stand Ins

. Retrieved 20 June 2011

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

' Joseph Carver praised the album's narrative, writing "Once again, a record made up of relatively unlikeable characters becomes a fixture in your psyche thanks to

Will Sheff Will Sheff (born July 7, 1976) is the frontman for the Austin, Texas-based indie band Okkervil River (1998–present). Originally from Meriden, New Hampshire, he is also a founding member and co-songwriter (along with former Okkervil bandmate Jo ...

’s ability to find the humanity in their stories."

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

also praised the album's lyrics, with reviewer

Stephen Deusner Stephen M. Deusner is an American music critic and part-time record store clerk who lives in Bloomington, Indiana. A native of Tennessee, he has contributed to Pitchfork Media (including ''the Pitchfork 500''), ''Salon'', '' CMT'', ''American Songwr ...

calling Sheff "...one of the best lyric-writers going in indie rock." Deusner continued: "Song for song, he can jerk a tear with a carefully observed detail or turn of phrase... but it's the way those songs talk to one another that makes Okkeril River albums so durable and fascinating." In a less positive review, Melanie Haupt of ''

The Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogr ...

'' criticized the album for being unpolished and unfocused, writing "''The Stand Ins'' doesn't really figure out what it wants to be until its second half."Haupt, Melanie
ACL Fest Sunday Reviews: Okkervil River

. In another mixed review,

Magnet A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nickel, ...

's Chris Barton also criticized the album for being unfocused, writing "Okkervil River can deliver terrific songs when ambitions are kept in balance, but this uneven record is in dire need of an editor."Barton, Chris
OKKERVIL RIVER: The Stand Ins

. 9 September 2008. Retrieved 20 June 2011

Track list

Personnel

The following people contributed to ''The Stand Ins'':The Stand Ins - Credits

. Retrieved 20 June 2011 ;Okkervil River *

– Casio, composer, acoustic, electric and rhythm guitar, keyboards, photography, vocals * Charles Bissell – electric guitar * Scott Brackett – audio engineer, cornet, editing, engineer, Hammond B3, Mellotron, Hammond organ, percussion, synthesizer, vocals * Brian Cassidy – arranger, electric guitar, mandolin, pedal steel, string arrangements, vocals *

– banjo, piano, vocals, Wurlitzer * Justin Sherburn – carillon, Hammond B3, Mellotron, piano, vocals * Travis Nelsen – claves, clavinet, drums, maracas, sleigh bells, tambourine, vocals * Patrick Pestorius – bass, melodica, vocals * Zachary Thomas – mandolin ;Technical personnel * Brian Beattie – audio production, engineer, electric guitar, Mellotron, percussion, producer, synthesizer * Felix Beattie – audio engineer * Brad Bell – audio engineer, engineer * Roger Seibe; – mastering * Stuart Sullivan – audio engineer, engineer * Paul Mahern – audio engineer, engineer ;Additional musicians * Caitlin Bailey – cello * Mike Hoffer – trombone, trumpet * Scott Jackson – violin * David Lobel – alto and baritone saxophone * Katie Nott – viola * Kathleen Pittman – violin * Sarah Pizzichemi – violin * Francesca Smith – French horn * Will Thothong – viola * Tammy Vo – violin ;Additional personnel * Daniel Murphy – layout design *

William Schaff William J. Schaff Jr. is an artist and musician based in Warren, Rhode Island and Oakland, California. He is known for artwork for the bands Okkervil River, Songs: Ohia, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. "An electric ...

– artwork *

Tatyana Tolstaya Tatyana Nikitichna Tolstaya (russian: Татьяна Никитична Толстая; born May 3, 1951) is a Russian writer, TV host, publicist, novelist, and essayist from the Tolstoy family. Family Tolstaya was born in Leningrad into a f ...

– author

Charts

References

External links

Official website
* /www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKmZRO8XzyY Official "Lost Coastlines" music video {{DEFAULTSORT:Stand Ins, The 2008 albums Okkervil River albums Jagjaguwar albums