THE 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.

Tracklisting
1. Stand Ins, Pt. 1
2. Lost Coastlines
3. Singer Songwriter
4. Starry Stairs
5. Blue Tulip
6. Stand Ins, Pt. 2
7. Pop Lie
8. On Tour with Zykos
9. Calling and Not Calling My Ex
10. Stand Ins, Pt. 3
11. Bruce Wayne Campbell Interviewed on the Roof of the Chelsea Hotel, 1979

Professional Reviews
Rolling Stone (p.113) – 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.”

Spin (p.128) – 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 (p.49) – Ranked #19 in Spin’s “40 Best Albums Of 2008″ — “Will Sheff’s alternately biting and weary stories of doubt and falsity resonate…”

Entertainment Weekly (p.136) – “This Austin quintet follow 2007’s THE STAGE NAMES with a second tour de force about the collateral damage of fame.” — Grade: A

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.”

Magnet (p.118) – “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’…”

Blender (Magazine) (p.82) – 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.”