So You Want to get into…The Mountain Goats Part 2

Part 1


Life of the World to Come

Best Song: Hebrew 11:40

1.) 1 Samuel 15:23
2.) Psalms 40:2
3.) Genesis 3:23
4.) Philippians 3:20-21
5.) Hebrews 11:40
6.) Genesis 30:3
7.) Romans 10:9
8.) 1 John 4:16
9.) Matthew 25:21
10.) Deuteronomy 2:10
11.) Isaiah 45:23
12.) Ezekiel 7 and the Permanent Efficacy of Grace

So after my opinion of the Mountain Goats was sofftened by Heretic Pride, I had to get his newest release when it came out. And wouldn’t you know I really liked it. It was way more consistent then Heretic Pride, keeping me interested throughout its entire span. This was actually one of the first albums I talked about on this site, almost a year ago in my Top Albums of 2009 posts. Listening to it again my opinion has not changed much. “Hebrews 11:40” is still one of the best songs that John Darinelle has ever written. It showcases everything he is good at. Amazing arrangement of strings, interesting percussion, and a vocal delivery that sounds detached and distant, which ups the effectiveness of the song by a great deal.

“1 Samuel 15:23” still bores the hell out of me. If it wasn’t for the fact that some earlier albums have strong openers, I would guess that I would just hate all Mountain Goats openers based on Heretic Pride and The Life of the World to Come. The only other bad song on the album is “Deuteronomy”; in fact this is the only place where my opinion has changed. I used to let “Dueteronomy” go based solely on the emotion behind it, but I don’t even let it pass on that any more. When it comes down to it the song just drags on and on never drawing me in and never playing with my emotions.

Other then that the entire album is made up of good songs, few really stand out but I really have a special place for this album in my journey through the world of John Darnielle. It is because of The Life of the World to Come I chose to delve back into the Mountain Goats discography. My next stop would be a great one, to the best album in The Mountain Goats discography. I am of course talking about….

…To Be Continued