The Stand Ins [Slipcase]

lternative Press - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Paired with electric guitar and Sheff's rich, smooth-yet-almost-breaking vocal delivery, 'Names' is textured and engaging." Rolling Stone - 3 stars out of 5 -- "'Lost Coastlines trips along on a sprightly Motown groove. 'Starry Stairs' is a Smiths ringer punched up with Stax/Volt horn charts." Blender - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Lyrically, Sheff straddles the line between precious and brilliant, warbling twisty, appostive-packed tales about life on the road and crumbled relationships over cranked-up, vaguely folkish rock riffs." Entertainment Weekly - "This Austin quintet follow 2007's THE STAGE NAMES with a second tour de force about the collateral damage of fame." -- Grade: A Spin - 4 stars out of 5 -- "THE STAND INS is packed with sprawling narratives and precarious guitars....Sheff makes even the most complicated sentiments feel like an invitation to raise your fist." Spin - Ranked #19 in Spin's "40 Best Albums Of 2008" -- "Will Sheff's alternately biting and weary stories of doubt and falsity resonate..." Magnet - "THE STAND INS leaves the door open to its roots, from now-former member Jonathan Meilburg's ringing banjo opening 'Lost Coastlines' to the appropriately HIGHWAY 61-leaning 'Singer Songwriter'..." CMJ - "STAND INS saunters ambitiously through the depths of the night amidst the clash of acoustic guitars and iconic cabaret Wurlitzer's Alternative Press (p.152) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Paired with electric guitar and Sheff's rich, smooth-yet-almost-breaking vocal delivery, 'Names' is textured and engaging."

HE STAND INS is a sequel to 2007's THE STAGE NAMES, the second half of a double album's worth of songs completed by singer-songwriter Will Sheff prior to the first album's release. The songs continue with the lyrical themes and obsessions of THE STAGE NAMES, filled with references to famous bands, authors, films, TV shows, and other bits of high and low culture set to Sheff's moody, guitar-based indie rock tunes. Even the cover art of the two albums links together to form a single image, although both in artwork and in its compelling songs, THE STAND INS also stands alone as a complete work in itself. THE STAND INS is available as a digital download, a standard CD, and a vinyl LP.|