Okkervil River "The Stand Ins"

Okkervil River is one of the great critically applauded yet largely unheralded bands of the "aughties" (If you've come up with a better term for the decade of the 00's, lemme know). Their big break through after a couple of records released was the concept record, "Black_Sheep_Boy". It's a powerful collection of songs primarily penned by front man Will Sheff. Sheff is, arguably, one of the great songwriters of this decade and it's criminal he doesn't receive more praise outside of indie music circles. Here is a video off of Black Sheep Boy, the powerful "For Real". If you like this, watch a live recording of it as well.

Okkervil River's next two records were almost companion pieces, "The_Stage_Names" and "The-Stand Ins in that they had similar loosely-based themes on the music industry. "The Stage Names" was originally conceived to be a double-album but instead released as two separate records. Look for "The Plus Ones" with several pop culture references with a "plus one" added, such as, "Eight Chinese Bros", "Nine Miles High", and the "51st Way to Leave Your Lover". And of course, as most rock show attendees can attest who have been added to a guest list, you are a "plus one". Check it out, Will Sheff solo.

And with their latest release on Jagjaguwar label, The Stand Ins, Okkervil River continues on with these themes with songs like "On Tour With Zykos", "Singer Songwriter" and this catchy little gem titled "Lost Coastlines". The band also recorded several youtube videos of bands they've toured with covering songs from "The Stand Ins" as a promotional tool for the record.

Here is one last video, "Lost Coastlines" from Okkervil River. "The Stand Ins" is in stock and available at Rediscover Records.