The Mountain Goats - The Life of the World to Come (Oct 6)

[Rob]

Kept busy all spring and I'm here with the news.

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
The Mountain Goats: The Life of the World to Come
release date 6 October 2009

The album was recorded between April and June: first at Electrical Audio with Brandon Eggleston; then at Sonic Ranch with John Congleton; and finally at Baucom Road with Scott Solter. Scott also mixed the entire album at Baucom Road. The band is still Jon Wurster, Peter Hughes, and me; Owen Pallett did string arrangments & played on the Electrical session. The third song in the tracklisting above is a link to the song itself - enjoy!

I guess the obvious question is going to be: "John, have you had some sort of religious awakening?" and while I guess lots of people might want to be coy about answering that, that's never really been my style, so: no. It's not like that. It's not some heavy-narrative-distance deal either, though, and it's not a screed. It's twelve new songs: twelve hard lessons the Bible taught me, kind of. More than that I'd want to wait to say until some people have heard it, which won't be long. Will there be more news soon, quite soon? Like, next week, even? Oh yes there will!

Genesis 3:23

http://static.4ad.com/audio/themount...nesis_3_23.mp3

[Tim Simmons]

Great Barenaked Ladies track.

[Sydneyfan]

Good news. Normally a track listing like that would be pretty worrying, but weird is par for the course with a lot of the Mountain Goats material. I thought last year's Heretic Pride was very underrated, so hopefully they can match or top that one.

[Sydneyfan]

Cover art:

Spoiler:

[Sydneyfan]

btw, this has leaked.

John Darnielle is a moderator on the Mountains Goats forum. It seems he's pretty cool with his fans downloading pre-release leaks, based on this missive he posted recently:

2) before long it'll be new album time. I'm relaxing the rules this time because to be honest I feel I have been unduly fascistic in the past, and fascism is not a good look. I assume that the album will leak shortly after I announce it (in a couple of weeks, so keep your shirt on). if people who've grabbed a leak want to talk about it, I really don't see the harm. (shock reversal right? opinions change as history marches on, etc) Can you link to rapidshares/ysis/etc of the album? Of course not, what a silly question. I feel that maybe there ought to be a spoiler-do-not-read-if-you-wanna-wait-for-release-date tag if/when a "talk about the leak" thread starts.
2a) Q: But John! What if somebody says they can't find the leak and needs our help?
A: Anybody who needs help finding a leak does not belong on the internet in my opinion. It is not rocket science. This also means don't come with the v. v. insulting "hey, Forum Member X, check your messages...I have, uh, information for you" etc. That is like personally insulting to me. OK?

[Sydneyfan]

THE MOUNTAIN GOATS - THE LIFE OF THE WORLD TO COME - 8.5/10

“King Saul fell on his sword when it all went wrong” sang The Mountain Goats’ John Darnielle on 2001’s The Sunset Tree, the singer’s ambitious and vivid meditation on childhood remembrances. Now on The Life Of The World To Come, Danielle’s lyrical dalliances with religion have been transposed into a full-on obsession.

Each song on The Mountain Goats’ new album makes reference to a Bible verse, from opener “1 Samuel 15:23” to the ponderously titled final track, “Ezekiel 7 And The Permanent Efficacy of Grace”. While it has been clear for some time now that The Mountain Goats are deeper thinkers than your average rock musician, this latest development seems challenging even by their standards.

However, the album is not quite as significant a departure as its concept would suggest. Darnielle has stated in a recent interview that its songs relate to “twelve hard lessons the Bible taught me”. Therefore, he has retained the intensely personal element which made his work so compelling in the first place, coupled with his novelistic eye for detail and acute compositional skills.

Although the manner in which the songs’ religious aspects relates to Darnielle’s life is not always clear-cut, it hardly matters when the music is so sublimely orchestrated and his choice of words, so adept.

While listening to the album, I could not help but think of another religious-themed record – Spirit of Eden – Talk Talk’s 1988 magnum opus. This record was a conscious reaction against eighties music’s obsession with synthesisers and other machine-based sounds. Similarly, The Life Of The World To Come could be viewed as an antidote to the Timbaland-led digitalisation of music which the 2000s’ have spawned, with its emphasis on slow, thoughtful and sparsely arranged melodies.

It is also of a different era, given that it is an album in the truest sense of the word. It contains no obvious, Ipod-worthy hit single and practically demands to be listened to carefully from beginning to end, with a very deliberate-seeming ebb and flow to its structure.

Hence, those listeners willing to afford it patience will be rewarded with its many obscured but no less delightful moments, particularly on “Hebrews 11:14”, where Owen Pallett’s (aka Final Fantasy) strings provide The Mountain Goats’ music with a further layer of beauty.

Recently, Darnielle purported to possess an interest rather than any direct affiliation with Christianity or religion in general. And while this album is not perfect (the limitations of Darnielle’s voice are occasionally exposed), at its best it approaches an elegiac quality befitting of the finest hymns.

- 8.5

http://www.balconytv.com/latest-revi..._-_8_5_10.aspx

[littleamen]

Ok, The Mountain Goats are now thoroughly separated from Animal Collective in my mind.

[Sydneyfan]

So, I love this album.

Video for Ezekiel 7 and the Permanent Efficacy of Grace.

You Tube

[littleamen]

Love this.

Recommended reading: Ezekiel 7 before listening (or after).

[Sydneyfan]

Originally Posted by littleamen

Love this.

Recommended reading: Ezekiel 7 before listening (or after).

Yeah, I haven't done the Bible readings, but I now realise I should after reading a couple of reviews. I should have known that Darnielle seldom writes lyrics that don't have layers of meaning. The Mountain Goat's forum looks like a religious studies class at the moment, ha.

[GoodSkanky]

+ points for recording at electrical audio!

minus points for being another Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom band name...

[Corporal Brown]

I listened to some of this today. I majored in Biblical Studies and Creative Writing so I'm always up for interesting interpretations.

[JackStark211]

I guess I'll have to give this a listen.