kkervil River’s newest, true and formulaic

Okkervil River’s late 2008 release, “The Stand Ins” teems with melodrama and catchy harmonies, elements every indie-pop band has in some way adopted over the last two generations.

Tunes like “Pop Lie” scream of a happy Smiths vibe with ultra-sarcastic lyrics: “By the back room the kids all waited/To meet the man in bright green/Who had dreamed up the dream/That they wrecked their hearts upon.”
The album is laden with enigmatic poetry as is evident in the lamenting, “Blue Tulip.”

“I’m held back by a velvet rope/And he’s behind the wall the smoke machine has made between us.” The cheesy organ sound lends the perfect amount of blues to the progressively building ballad, which is reminiscent of Radiohead some 15 years prior.

As the album gets deeper, songs like “On Tour With Zykos” make the listener feel even dreamier. Sparse piano themes and drunken vocal phrasing create a stripped-down atmosphere that needs no augmentation. However, the triumphant entrance of a string section in this and several other tunes really add a wonderful element of development, however cliché.

The first track after the introduction, “Lost Coastlines,” epitomizes pop in the modern age. Complete with strumming guitars, banjoes, two vocalists, delayed entrances, two different “la la la” choruses, strings and horns, there is no sane analysis that would conclude this song is nothing short of incredible.

The poetry is beautiful, and while the music can be a little sedating at times, it’s still catchy. Okkervil River has released a definitive album that will certainly make fans or haters out of those still on the fence.

Grade: C+

Download (don’t steal): “Lost Coastlines” by Okkervil River.