Spring Break
okkervil River: 'The Stand Ins'
Scott Raynor
Issue date: 9/17/08 Section: The Edge
Whereas Okkervil River's 2007 effort "The Stage Names" revolved around the stark contrast between life and cinema, "The Stand Ins" gives proof of such in its collection of heartfelt and more bitter than sweet narratives.
River's latest was originally intended to be the second half of "The Stage Names," evident when the album artwork from "The Stage Names" is placed on top of "The Stand Ins" to form a complete image.
"The Stand Ins," although short (11 tracks total including three instrumental interludes), is an extremely cohesive and effective album. Even though it lacks the immediate appeal of their previous effort, it makes an excellent companion piece nonetheless.
"The Stand Ins" begins with "Lost Coastlines," a song using the sea and sailing as a metaphor for the band's vagrant nature and struggle to stay together: "Look out, look out at each town that glides by/ and there's another crowd/to drown in crying eyes." The song gets progressively more dense and energetic until it erupts into a deluge of bright, jangly guitar chords and la la la's. It is by far the most energetic song and most telling of the changes the Austin six-piece has made in their new release both musically and lyrically.
The songs revolve around narratives from alternating perspectives on the subjects of musicians, fame, and heartbreak with lush, progressively evolving melodies. "On Tour With the Zykos" fits the aforementioned profile the most, it is a song of heartbreak from the point of view of a disenchanted groupie who begins with nothing but a soft piano melody and ends with organs, acoustic guitars, and a string section.
"Singer Songwriter," is an upbeat acoustic guitar driven track accented exceptionally well by pseudo-country slide guitars. The song recalls the image of a narcissistic, pretentious musician who naively loses sight of her love for art told from the perspective of an ex-lover: "You've got taste/ you've got taste/what a waste that's all you've got."
"Bruce Wayne Campbell Interviewed On The Roof Of The Chelsea Hotel, 1979" is a song reminiscing about the tragedy of a near-celebrity, Bruce "Jobriath" Campbell, an openly gay glam rocker praised and then scorned by the press who was reduced to a cocktail bar singer when he died of AIDS in 1983. The song closes the album beautifully; picking up speed from its finger plucked intro to a passionately sung verse accompanied by warm horns and rhythmic acoustic guitars, fading out softly; mirroring the tragic rise and fall of the late Bruce Campbell.
River's latest was originally intended to be the second half of "The Stage Names," evident when the album artwork from "The Stage Names" is placed on top of "The Stand Ins" to form a complete image.
"The Stand Ins," although short (11 tracks total including three instrumental interludes), is an extremely cohesive and effective album. Even though it lacks the immediate appeal of their previous effort, it makes an excellent companion piece nonetheless.
"The Stand Ins" begins with "Lost Coastlines," a song using the sea and sailing as a metaphor for the band's vagrant nature and struggle to stay together: "Look out, look out at each town that glides by/ and there's another crowd/to drown in crying eyes." The song gets progressively more dense and energetic until it erupts into a deluge of bright, jangly guitar chords and la la la's. It is by far the most energetic song and most telling of the changes the Austin six-piece has made in their new release both musically and lyrically.
The songs revolve around narratives from alternating perspectives on the subjects of musicians, fame, and heartbreak with lush, progressively evolving melodies. "On Tour With the Zykos" fits the aforementioned profile the most, it is a song of heartbreak from the point of view of a disenchanted groupie who begins with nothing but a soft piano melody and ends with organs, acoustic guitars, and a string section.
"Singer Songwriter," is an upbeat acoustic guitar driven track accented exceptionally well by pseudo-country slide guitars. The song recalls the image of a narcissistic, pretentious musician who naively loses sight of her love for art told from the perspective of an ex-lover: "You've got taste/ you've got taste/what a waste that's all you've got."
"Bruce Wayne Campbell Interviewed On The Roof Of The Chelsea Hotel, 1979" is a song reminiscing about the tragedy of a near-celebrity, Bruce "Jobriath" Campbell, an openly gay glam rocker praised and then scorned by the press who was reduced to a cocktail bar singer when he died of AIDS in 1983. The song closes the album beautifully; picking up speed from its finger plucked intro to a passionately sung verse accompanied by warm horns and rhythmic acoustic guitars, fading out softly; mirroring the tragic rise and fall of the late Bruce Campbell.
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