The Mountain Goats Albums
Band Members:
John Darnielle (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Amy Piatt (backing vocals, 1992-?), Rosanne Lindley (backing vocals, 1992-?), Sarah Arslanian [aka Ladytown] (backing vocals, 1992-?), Rachel Ware (bass, vocals, 1992-95), Peter Peter Hughes (bass, vocals, 2002-present), Jon Wurster (drums, 2007-present), Matt Douglas (baritone saxophone, flute, clarinet, guitar, keyboards, backing vocals, 2015-present)
Best Album:
the Sunset Tree
1994
Zopilote Machine - 90%
It may be plural in name, but The Mountain Goats is mainly a one man show. The low fi approach to music is his, mainly sloppy acoustic guitar playing and rabid vocals that often peak. I would point out that highlights are very much all over the place, as all songs are catchy and memorable in some way. This is kind of the premier lo fi self made recording that has a certain charm to it that is irresistible and raw but in the best possible way the Cub says..
2005
The Sunset Tree - 96%
You know, I love to listen to music. I listen to a lot of it, all the time, because it is the world i am stuck in and inhabit. Music is my life, but it is a very private part of my life; i don't necessarily talk to people about it (besides these reviews), but i don't need to. It is my personal thing, my hobby and all that. With that said, it is usually considered that folk music is the genre of music most associated with being lyrical and personal, and usually the lyrics are more important than the music. Most of the times, the music is not as well written, and that is ok to half the music people, but when they come together in any genre it is life changing. John Darnielle has done something amazing with The Sunset Tree, and made the perfect folk record. He's taken great stories, seemingly autobiographical, and mixed them with great acoustic music and minimal production, so all of these songs would sound good even if they were played with one man and his guitar.
To talk about each song would be pointless when all of them are perfect, just know that some lift you up, some cool you down, some tell introspections about the writer's childhood, some tell tales about real-life tragedies, and others just tell you to hold on a little longer, because it is going to be ok. Darnielle comes from a family with abuse, and in the liner notes of this album it tells anyone who has been abused to "hold on, you will make it out of this alive and ok!" Powerful stuff. To compare a work like this to other people, i think i can confidently say that i've listened to plenty by folkies such as Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Gordon Lightfoot, Jackson Browne, Sam Beam, Lisa Germano, Leonard Coen, Jeff Magnum, Neil Young, and Van Morrison and this album compares to those peoples best work. It is impossible to call and album "the best ever" right away, and certainly a new album will take forever to get recognition, but i will say this is one of the best that i have ever heard.
2012
Transcendental Youth – 85%
John Darnelle's Mountain Goats have so many albums and so many great songs it would take an expert to decipher them all. He makes it a lot of fun though, which is why I personally keep coming back. His Transcendental Youth is his most consistent collection since the mid 2000's, and it recalls both Tallahassee and The Sunset Tree. There is varied instrumentation with piano, stand up bass, trumpets, marimba, trombones, and of course and abundance of acoustic guitar.
Most of the songs are tracked to drums so it sounds more like a band effort then his most recent albums (Heritic Pride, All Eternals Deck) but what makes it great is obvious: great songs. "Lake Side View", "Cry Judas", "Diaz Brothers", "Night Light", "Harlem Roulette".....it's hard to find a song that isn't likeable on here. Which is saying a lot - this man has been a churning force in folk rock since 1994: that's over 20 years of evolution and above all, consistency. Hats off.
Best Tracks: Diaz Brothers, Lakeside View Apts Suite, Night Light, Spent Gladiator Two
2022
Bleed Out – 94%
It is nice to hear another great Mountain Goats album, and that it sounds so different than the last ones. Really with a songwriter as prolific as John Darnielle, anything is a blessing but he seems to be a new kind of version of himself with this album. It is definitely his most hard rocking record, sounding more like an alt-rocker like Bob Mould than his folk-rock past (he shares a drummer with the great John Wurster), but even labeling Darnielle can be dangerous since he has so many different versions of himself to deal with. There’s the contemplative soulful one (“Mark on You”, “Bones Don’t Rust”) the prophetic one “(the scary “Need more Bandages”, the seven minute “Hostages”) and the folky and playful one (“Wage Wars Get Rich Die Handsome”). Sometimes Darnielle is all of this at once, but with this backing band he has now he is more effective than he has been in at least the last ten years.
The balance of styles he has perfected is present on the jazzy sound of “Guys on Every Corner”, but also the long, languid passages of a song like “Extraction Point” which expands his sound into something completely new. “Training Montage” starts off the album with a hard-hitting edge, but it also tells the story of what he is about to tell you on the album. Some of it comes off as a take on ‘violence in our world’ (the Rambo themed “First Blood”) but in reality, there are many themes explored and Darnielle goes back and forth between subjects and sounds he has covered for the last 30 years. A jangly tune like “Incandescent Ruins” could have been on any of his prior albums, but it is produced professionally here like Darnielle has found the perfect way to now tell his stories. He continues on as someone who has a devoted fanbase but knows he may never be accepted by the mainstream, and I think he is fine with his place in the world. This is one of his most consistent collections of songs, and for a band as prolific as The Mountain Goats that is saying something.
Best Songs: Extraction Point, Make you Suffer, Need More Bandages, Bones Don’t Rust