The Stand Ins has received positive reviews. The album currently has a score of 78 out of 100 on the review aggregate site Metacritic

Metacritic

Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...

, indicating "Generally favorable reviews."

Popmatters

PopMatters

PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...

' Joseph Carver praised the album's narrative, writing "Once again, a record made up of relatively unlikeable characters becomes a fixture in your psyche thanks to Will Sheff

Will Sheff

Will Sheff is the frontman for the Austin, Texas-based indie band Okkervil River . Originally from Meriden, New Hampshire, he is also a founding member and co-songwriter for Shearwater , another Austin band...

’s ability to find the humanity in their stories." Pitchfork Media

Pitchfork Media

Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...

 also praised the album's lyrics, with reviewer Stephen Deusner calling Sheff "...one of the best lyric-writers going in indie rock." Deusner continued: "Song for song, he can jerk a tear with a carefully observed detail or turn of phrase... but it's the way those songs talk to one another that makes Okkeril River albums so durable and fascinating."

In a less positive review, Melanie Haupt of The Austin Chronicle criticized the album for being unpolished and unfocused, writing "The Stand Ins doesn't really figure out what it wants to be until its second half." In another mixed review, Magnet

Magnet (magazine)

Magnet is a music magazine which generally focuses on alternative, independent, or out-of-the-mainstream bands.-History:The magazine is published four times a year, and is independently owned and edited by Eric T. Miller. Music magazines with a similar focus in the 1990s era included Option,...

's Chris Barton also criticized the album for being unfocused, writing "Okkervil River can deliver terrific songs when ambitions are kept in balance, but this uneven record is in dire need of an editor."

Tracklist

Okkervil River

• Will Sheff
  Will Sheff
  Will Sheff is the frontman for the Austin, Texas-based indie band Okkervil River . Originally from Meriden, New Hampshire, he is also a founding member and co-songwriter for Shearwater , another Austin band...
  
   - Casio, Composer, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Guitar (Rhythm), Keyboards, Photography, Vocals
• Charles Bissell - Guitar (Electric)
• Scott Brackett - Audio Engineer, Cornet, Editing, Engineer, Hammond B3, Mellotron, Organ (Hammond), Percussion, Synthesizer, Vocals
• Brian Cassidy - Arranger, Guitar (Electric), Mandolin, Pedal Steel, String Arrangements, Vocals
• Jonathan Meiburg
  Jonathan Meiburg
  Jonathan Meiburg, born in Baltimore, Maryland, on March 1st, 1976, is a multi-instrumentalist musician and the lead singer and songwriter for Shearwater , a band he co-founded with Will Sheff in Austin, Texas. He also shared duties with Sheff as a member of Okkervil River...
  
   - Banjo, Piano, Vocals, Wurlitzer
• Justin Sherburn - Carillon, Hammond B3, Mellotron, Piano, Vocals
• Travis Nelsen - Claves, Clavinet, Drums, Maracas, Sleigh Bells, Tambourine, Vocals
• Patrick Pestorius - Bass, Melodica, Vocals
• Zachary Thomas - Mandolin

Recording personnel

• Brian Beattie - Audio Production, Engineer, Guitar (Electric), Mellotron, Percussion, Producer, Synthesizer
• Felix Beattie - Audio Engineer
• Brad Bell - Audio Engineer, Engineer
• Roger Seibe; - Mastering
• Stuart Sullivan - Audio Engineer, Engineer
• Paul Mahern - Audio Engineer, Engineer

Additional musicians

• Caitlin Bailey - Cello
• Mike Hoffer - Trombone, Trumpet
• Scott Jackson - Violin
• David Lobel - Sax (Alto), Sax (Baritone)
• Katie Nott - Viola
• Kathleen Pittman - Violin
• Sarah Pizzichemi - Violin
• Francesca Smith - French Horn
• Will Thothong - Viola
• Tammy Vo - Violin

Additional personnel

• Daniel Murphy - Layout Design
• William Schaff
  William Schaff
  William J. Schaff Jr. is a Providence, Rhode Island-based artistand musician, who has created the detailed art for all of the Jagjaguwar releases of Okkervil River and artwork for other music albums, including for the bands Songs: Ohia and Godspeed You! Black Emperor.-Art:Much of Schaff's art...
  
   - Artwork
• Tatyana Tolstaya
  Tatyana Tolstaya
  Tatyana Nikitichna Tolstaya is a Russian writer, TV host, publicist, novelist, and essayist from the Tolstoy family.- Family :She was born into a family of rich literary tradition. Her paternal grandfather was Aleksei Nikolaevich Tolstoi, an important Russian-Soviet writer known as 'the Red...
  
   - Author

Charts

Chart (2007)	Peak position
US Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...	42
US Independent Albums Independent Albums The Billboard Independent Albums is a chart of the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays in the United States, compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is used to list artists who are not signed to major labels...	5

External links

• Official website
• Official "Lost Coastlines" music video