Okkervil River: “The Stand Ins”

September 9th, 2008 | 15:44

by, rigs

A stand-in in film and television is a person who substitutes for the actor before filming, for technical purposes such as lighting. Source: Wikipedia

In short, if you own and enjoyed The Stage Names, then The Stand Ins is a no-brainer. The two albums are cohesive enough to share a release date and liner notes, but differ in all the right ways, allowing The Stand Ins to shine separately and truly embody a completely new, fresh album from Okkervil River. Sheff and crew, again under the direction of Brian Beattie, are ultimately a band that makes albums. No filler, lean in production, intelligently orchestrated, and witty, The Stand Ins is a smart and complete effort.

The album is short and succinct but far from lacking. With three short instrumentals and two and half minutes of “La La’s” ending “Lost Coastlines” (it just keeps going), Will Sheff is efficient in delivering his somber yarns. Furthermore, the placement of each instrumental seems more important than their respective compositions or the actual notes played. These aptly named pieces, each one with the title “Stand Ins” preceding their order number, actually play the role of stand-in. Each “Stand In…” is appropriately woven through the album’s crucial movements (or scenes): leading into the pseudo-Hey-Jude-outro anthem “Lost Coastlines”, splitting the wrenching “Blue Tulip” and caustic “Pop Lie”, and introducing the somber and very relevant homage to Jobriath, “Bruce Wayne Campbell Interview on the Roof of the Chelsea Hotel, 1979”… all contributing to the completeness of Okkervil’s latest offering.

Sheff continues his tendency to write more poetically and more poignantly than many of his indie contemporaries. While lyrically dedicated to the exploit of famed life, the spoils of spotlights, songwriting, and, well, those who are faking it (“You got taste / what a waste / that’s all that you have” from “Singer Songwriters”), Sheff’s vocals are more diverse and, yes, more expressive than what was offered on The Stage Names. The Stand Ins showcases Sheff’s voice as a haunting instrument to deliver his harrowing lyrical lines, especially on “Blue Tulip” (a truly beautiful and expressive piece, yet completely tiring – in that good way) and then again on “Bruce Wayne Campbell Interview on the Roof of the Chelsea Hotel, 1979”:

Fuck long hours sick with singing
Sick with singing the same songs
In the bar they’ll soon be drinking
Let’s cash my check and drink along

Orchestration includes an array of instruments, each one adding more potential for pretentious noise or unnecessary instrumentation however Okkervil River handles the many musicians thing very well. Patrick Pestorius and his group of pickers, pluckers, bangers, and blowers never distract from what’s important here: the overall stories and concepts of The Stand Ins or, quite simply, Will Sheff’s wryly candid and morosely entertaining tales. Musically, hints of Page France’s “…and the Family Telephone” or a more refined, more intentional “Fevers and Mirrors” a la Bright Eyes linger behind lines like, “She’s a fixture / and it’s a mixture of dumb jealousy and fear / that I might feel should she appear / just like it hasn’t been three years” (from “Calling and Not Calling My Ex”).

Now while we have heard over and over and over again that The Stand Ins is remnant of some orphaned-double-album-sister to The Stage Names, it’s not. It’s its own. Yes, for Okkervil River, at times The Stand Ins nestles into conventional, but at this point they cannot be at fault for creating a respectable standard and quirky sound to which they themselves yield. The Stand Ins cannot be considered better than The Stage Names, nor can it be considered worse, but perhaps only “right.” Okkervil River does what recording bands are supposed to do: put out good albums, where the next is a progressive move from the last and the newer, a reflection and understanding of the older.

On a side note, I did find myself hoping for another brilliant appearance from a beloved musical character (remember Sloop John B. in The Stage Names‘ “John Allyn Smith Sail”). Perhaps Pancho and Lefty are on their way… maybe once the credits roll, the stage names are forgotten and the stand ins go home.

Until then, RIP Jobriath.