It makes sense that Okkervil River would derive their name from the title of a short story by an obscure Russian author. Singer/songwriter Will Sheff's heavily literary lyrics are the most striking thing about their latest release The Stand Ins. Unlike many contemporary songwriters, Sheff doesn't dabble in hazy imagery or ambiguous word association. Like an engaging novel, his songwriting teems with well-defined characters, dramatic situations, and themes that unify the album's tales of loss, weariness and cynicism.

Sheff's characters often struggle to deal with either their own or a loved one's newfound fame, success or wealth.Sheff writes poignantly about these corrupting forces in songs like "Blue Tulip," in which a defeated narrator laments the demise of her relationship to a man who has been swallowed by fame: "Hats off to my distant hope / I'm held back by a velvet rope, and he's behind the wall the smoke machine has made between us."

Though lyrical content is front and center, Okkervil River are no slackers musically. Their sound may be rooted in folk, but it's freely embellished with chamber pop touches. Take the case of standout track "Lost Coastlines," which starts with a simple acoustic guitar and banjo duet but craftily builds into a bombastic arrangement, anchored by a Motown-style bass line, drenched in strings and brightened by horns.

The Stand Ins is a bit disappointing in that there are only eight true songs here, and the three instrumental interludes do little to impress. Also, Okkervil River have a tendency to get too caught up in their own melancholy, resulting in songs that feel more like funeral dirges than folk ballads. But the quality of songwriting and musical arrangements that Okkervil River yet again deliver in The Stand Ins more than makes up for this brevity and occasionally overdone despondence.