All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Entertainment Weekly

This Austin quintet follows 2007's "The Stage Names" with a second tour de force about the collateral damage of fame.

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100

Delusions of Adequacy

Remember those old days when everything was perfect, when you were happy and all was right in your world, The Stand Ins achieves this.

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Paste Magazine

Okkervil River itself performs here with an organic ease that’s dramatic without reaching for histrionics, continuing to tattoo its rough folkish flesh with Motown horns, power-pop overdrive and chugging New Wave bass.

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PopMatters

All of Sheff’s characters once again come to life on The Stand Ins. More stories are told from the first person than on "The Stage Names," but the theme shines through.

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The Onion (A.V. Club)

Sheff's narratives are still generous with details about porn stars and bland rich kids but they're also more focused than before, sharply describing characters who embrace the lies they find in art or in their heads for the sake of sanity.

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Lost At Sea

Just shy of a dozen songs, the ensemble of tracks on The Stand Ins is as rich and musically textured as any previous Okkervil River album

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Filter

The Stand Ins is rich with traces of its conterpart. [Fall 2008, p.92]

Uncut

The Stand Ins stands out on its own merits, a trove of dazzlingly wittty songcraft. [Nov 2008, p.112]

The Guardian

The frustrated love Sheff puts into every Motown bassline, soaring brass section and uplifting chorus means the songs sound inspiring, not bleak.

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Drowned In Sound

The Stand Ins is assured, ambitious and occasionally transcendent in its appeal--a worthy expansion of its forerunner and standalone joy in itself.

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musicOMH.com

Though it stands up well enough on its own The Stand Ins does feel like a follow-up, rather than something completely new and fresh and forward looking, and it is not as instantly gripping as The Stage Names, it takes longer to wind your way into your mind.

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No Ripcord

The Stand Ins is a solid achievement cut from the same charming cloth, even if it doesn’t crisp in quite the same way "The Stage Names" did.

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Alternative Press

The pair of albums don't feel at all like a gimmick, but more like a labor of love that gives each of frontman Will Sheff's characters the appropriate amount of time to shine. [Oct 2008, p.152]

Village Voice

The Stand-Ins, reportedly taped at the same time as "Stage Names," is an improvement, not least because Sheff punishes himself (rather humorously) for the sin of relying on tragic heroes at all.

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Blender

Sheff straddles the line between precious and brilliant, warbling twisty, appositive-packed tales about life on the road and crumbled relationships over cranked-up, vaguely folkish rock riffs.

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Spin

The Stand Ins, is packed with the same compound sentences, sprawling narratives, and precarious, barn-dance guitars that made its companion piece, 2007's "The Stage Names," so weirdly gripping.

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The New York Times

Self-conscious as the lyrics are, the music is uninhibited: lurching into motion like a bar band, picking up speed, piling up instruments and letting them fall away.

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Billboard

The Stand-Ins feels looser and breathier than "Stage Names."

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Pitchfork

The Stand Ins continues that ambitious musical development [in "The Stage Names"], further roughing up the group's sound while sharpening its attack to an even finer point, and refining some of their old tricks while introducing new ones.

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cokemachineglow

They ["The Stage Names" and The Stand Ins]were released as distinct (though interrelated) albums, and this one is better.

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Slant Magazine

It's a straight line from Pet Sounds to Pulp's Different Class, and while Stand Ins and its predecessor share R&B riffs affected with a country twang, connecting this latest dip in the Okkervil to a '90s Pulp-y-ness is a refreshing move.

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All Music Guide

Stand Ins glows a little less bright than its' predecessor, but it shines nonetheless.

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Boston Globe

Whether The Stand Ins is a sequel to "The Stage Names" album, a companion piece, or a reimagining hardly matters; its pleasures and frustrations are entirely approachable on their own terms.

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Tiny Mix Tapes

Though Sheff’s lyrics can be too earnest sometimes, there’s no doubt he’s one of the most exciting songwriters of recent years, and The Stand Ins is another fine entry in the band’s discography.

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Under The Radar

The Stand Ins has its moments of enlightment, but, as a whole, it's a distant cousin to a far superior record. [Fall 2008, p.82]

Rolling Stone

Like its predecessor, The Stand Ins also continues to stretch the band's mopey sound.

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Magnet

Okkervil River can deliver terrific songs when ambitions are kept in balance, but this uneven record is in dire need of an editor.

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Austin Chronicle

The Stand Ins doesn't really figure out what it wants to be until its second half.

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The Phoenix

This record is a sequel to 2007’s "The Stage Names," and it shares its predecessor’s concerns: artifice, authenticity, and above all, the sniveling insincerity of hazy-eyed media zombies.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 8.9 (out of 10) based on 15 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

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