“Lost Coastlines” is one of the best pop songs ever. Skeptical? Check out Okkervil River’s The Stand Ins and skip directly to track No. 2.--- Will Sheff and Jonathon Meiberg—proper and razor-sharp wordsmiths with serious pipes—engage in a duet that builds from catchy to irresistible by the soaring “la-la-la” climax. Meiberg appears on the song as a guest, having left the band to form Shearwater, but the group continues to excel at both at toe-tapping ditties and gut-wrenching ballads marked by an uncanny grip on the English language. Someone once described The Decemberists as hyperliterate prog-rockers, and, though meant as a slam, the “hyperliterate” tag seems completely complimentary—and applicable to Okkervil River. Tonight, the group opens for Iron & Wine, aka Sam Beam, who returned to his roots this year with Around the Well (Sub Pop), a collection of raw home recordings resurrected and refined in studio. Gallivan Center, 239 S. Main, 7 p.m. All-ages. Free.

And, because this band obviously has other songs ...

Okkervil River