The Mountain Goats were formed in Claremont, CA in 1991 as a lo-fi solo project and are currently based in Durham, NC as an indie-folk band. They have over 500 songs and all of them are amazing. You should listen to some of them. Start with The Sunset Tree.
I was about to make a thread about the band before I realized there was one already! Not sure any artist has had a run as prolific and incredible as John Darnielle. The man is just a flat-out amazing writer.
life of the world to come is such a stunning and touching record. might be my #2 or 3 tmg release. the refrain of isaiah 45:23 is one of the most heartbreaking things i've ever heard.
I neglected that album when it was released because I didn't feel it stacked up to everything else he'd done, but it's one of my favorites now. John 4:16 is a perfect song.
I get why people weren't sold on that album, but I loved it. This is one of the most heartbreaking songs that they've ever done.
I think mostly I was just stupid in 2009 and wrote it off as TMG doing a bible album. Much like people tend to write off Beat the Champ for being a wrestling album. As always with him, there's much more to it.
If I really liked the Sunset Tree, where do I go next? I've listened to that album for something like three or four years and never really listened to anything else. I usually go chronologically but he has a lot, so
I'd say go to Tallahassee and All Hail West Texas next, and probably We Shall All Be Healed, too. Everything before Sunset Tree is a little more lo-fi from a production standpoint, but I think really gets to the heart of some of his best storytelling.
thanks, this is what i'll do. That's really the aspect i like best about the mountain goats (the sunset tree) anyway, don't mind a little bit of a drop in production quality.
Just finished All Hail West Texas, that was great, I maybe fell for this one faster than I did the Sunset Tree, though I had the lyrics right in front of me this time. Some of the lyrics remind me of Jawbreaker at times, that sort of wistful, kind of melancholy songwriting but still hopeful at the edges. I liked it a lot, will do Tallahassee soon