Okkervil River

 Wow, you're an idiot.

Second that. 

 And i will even add: you’ve got to let the heart help the brain out sometimes.

what an awful review. simply because you disagree with what the artist has to say does not warrant a bad review of the music. i would admit this album is not as poignant as past albums, but it is certainly not 1.5 stars.

You're a terrible critic, Dick. To give this 1 and a half stars, the kind of review a record by someone of Britney Spears' calibre would receive, shows sheer ignorance on your part. You're reviewing the music, I don't care if you disagree with the sentiment or not. It's interesting that you're the sole critic doing a review of this album so far that has panned it. Clearly you're just delirious because your ego has inflated to a size larger than your pretentiousness.  "poor intelligence"? In regards to Will Sheff? Regardless of the meaning of the lyrics, they themselves are brilliant. Very few songwriters can weave a story into a song as well as he can. You are a true fool, Dick. 9 out of 10 for me.

 Wow.First of all, since the lyrics seem to offend you so much why don't you:a.) Write something better, or better yetb.) Realize that you're the type of self-righteous teabagger that is being referenced in most of these songs.Second, the music is excellent, varied and unique.  The majority of the songs are NOT in 4/4, and the majority of the songs cannot properly be labeled as 'rock'.  Also, please point me to the "botched acoustic guitar."  Maybe you listened to the wrong album since I doubt you even know enough about this band to know the difference.3.5/4.

wow a review knocking the best band in your own country, how perverse.

Although Richard Beck's review may be unnecessarily antagonistic, he brings up an important point that is lost in his unimpressive jabs at Sheff's taste, voical abilities, musicianship, intelligence, etc. Beck doesn't know quite how to express himself appropriately, but what he's trying to say is that The Stand-Ins doesn't cover new territory. This statement needs to be qualified. Although Beck makes a legitimate point, he may be unaware that the songs on the Stand-Ins were originally going to be released on the hypothetical Disc 2 of the Stage Names double-CD. The band released the Stage Names as a single disc, later releasing The Stand-Ins which had some serious rewriting and revision of the original material. So it makes sense that these songs continue in the same vein as the Stage Names songs. Whether you consider that positive or negative is a matter of personal taste, and I think we all know how Richard Beck feels. But who can blame the band? Sheff has already shown a tendency to see how far he can ride the wave, releasing a follow-up "appendix" to Black Sheep Boy following the BSB album's surprising success. And again, this isn't a criticism; the Appendix contains some of Okkervil River's most well written and impressively arranged songs ("No Key, No Plan," "Another Radio Song," and "Last Love Song For Now" come to mind). The same can be said about the songs on The Stand-Ins. The songs are well-written, the arrangements are more intricate than in previous albums, and the record is self-sustaining. It remains, though, that The Stand-Ins finds Sheff singing about material we've already heard, and though it's enjoyable, one can't help but look forward to the road ahead that Okkervil River will hopefully soon explore. The final cut of the album combines essential elements of Okkervil River's signature style with the unique songwriting and arrangement that is at the helm of the two latest CDs, letting us listeners gaze hopefully across the frontiers of the musical explorations that the band may soon choose to embark upon.