Okkervil River - The Stand-Ins (Jagjaguwar, 2008)

You know things have been busy at In(High)Fidelity HQ when we've have had our hands on the new Okkervil River album for over a month, and haven't yet found the time to write about it. For those of you who haven't been paying attention, we think that Okkervil River are the bee's knees, or, as Reinhoff would say: the cat's pyjamas.
Make no mistake, with the release of The Stand-Ins, our expectations prior to hearing the album were ridiculously high. Having seen the band improve with each new release, anything but the best could have very well tainted our view of Okkervil River permanently (Editor's Note: We have recently been researching the difference between "super fan" and "stalker" - luckily, we are still a short way from "stalker" status).
The Stand-Ins is an amazing album, and, quite possibly, the band's finest-to-date. At this point in his career, Will Sheff has few equals. His literary talent with words is explified on the Stand-Ins with tracks like Singer Songwriter, Blue Tulip, and On Tour With Zykos. His voice packs more of a punch than ever before and the band is on fire.
Holding a mirror up to both the life of a working rock'nroll band and the world of stage and screen might end up as a self-referential wank-fest in the hands of any other band. However, Okkervil River are not any other band. The subject matter is handled with a mixture of affection, empathy and disdain, backed by a soundtrack that reminds us of a time when the album, as a format, was still king.
I could write an entire thesis on this album, however, reading that would simply detract from the time you should be spending listening to it. So get out there and start listening.

Key Tracks: Lost Coastlines, Blue Tulip, On Tour With Zykos

Check Out: www.okkervilriver.com