The Mountain Goats

John Darnielle digs deeper into his seemingly endless well of elaborately-worded songs. The issues this time out seem more personal than simple fictional narratives, and the images conjure up feelings of hope, loss and regret. All of this is pitted against bright, folk-tinged arrangements.

The Mountain Goats' John Darnielle was the archetypal Nineties indie-rock bard, but ever
since 2002's Tallahassee, he's been on a sick creative roll, making one gem after another.
Tallahassee was a viciously funny song cycle about a shaky marriage; last year's We Shall
All Be Healed was a tour of substance abuse; and now The Sunset Tree digs into childhood
trauma with all the acoustic verve and wit you expect from this guy. The story is... More >

Is it that he knows less about himself than he does about the world, or that he won't reveal it? ("Dance Music," "Hast Thou Considered the Tetrapod?"). (Grade - ***)