Monday, November 24, 2008

Okkervil River The Stand Ins

I've been diggin' The Stand Ins for about a few weeks now. I love how the Okkervil Boys use the traditional instruments of Bluegrass and turn rustic on it's ear. "Lost Coastlines" is a brilliant piece of music. I love the combination of vocals with lead singer Will Sheff and Shearwater's Jonathan Meiburg. While Sheff brings the indie vocals, Meiburg channels the deep croon of more recent Morrissey. Each voice gives the song the a nice dual dynamic.

But, I particularly love the kiss off quality of "Singer Songwriter." This song could be about any number of artistically snobby people bragging about their outsider art, the books they read and what the newest, best, unheard-of band they are listening to.

There are some songs that are on the cusp of being good, but, you end up suffering through them. "On Tour With Zykos" and "Calling And Not Calling My Ex" are the two that come to mind. These two songs are ok, but, they lack a little extra something that makes them genuinely good songs.

All in all, I'm really diggin' this record.

MP3: Okkervil River - Lost Coastlines

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