Photo Courtesy of www.slowcoustic.com
By Zachary Ayres
The Mountain Goats’ John Darnielle, known by his fans for his staunch atheism and love of Satanic metal bands, has described his new album The Life of the World to Come as “12 hard lessons the Bible taught me, kind of.” Instead of traditional song titles, each song is named for a Bible verse.
It would be a mistake to attribute this move to a born-again conversion or a cheap gimmick. This is the athiest’s 100 percent legit fascination with the Good Book. “The Psalms,” he gushed in a recent interview with pitchfork.com, “are so awesome.”
In the hands of a lesser songwriter, this might not be a strong enough concept to fuel an entire album, but Darnielle is a veteran with an epic-sized discography. Since 1994, he has released nearly an album per year under the Mountain Goats moniker, in addition to numerous EPs, collaborations with other musicians and contributions to obscure compilations.
The Life of the World to Come is The Mountain Goats’ 14th full-length album and their sixth on the 4AD label, recorded in a professional studio with a full band.
Prior to signing with 4AD, Darnielle’s albums were mostly recorded at home, with just an acoustic guitar and the built-in-microphone on a cheap boom box. The results were low-fidelity, but powerful.
Fortunately, Darnielle is as talented as he is prolific. His lyrically-driven, intense style of folk-rock has consistently garnered praise from fans and critics alike; The New Yorker once referred to him as “America’s best non-hip-hop lyricist.” Because Darnielle has repeatedly set such a high standard for himself, expectations run high every time a new Mountain Goats album is released. But Darnielle has yet to release a disappointing album, and The Life of the World to Come continues the trend.
The Life of the World to Come is a compelling from start to finish, and is a paragon of the dark, idiosyncratic songwriting Darnielle is known for; he generally eschews writing about himself in favor of songs written from the perspectives of fictitious characters. On the hushed, eerie opener “1 Samuel 15:33” he takes on the role of a phony spiritual leader. The upbeat “Genesis 3:23” is about a man breaking into his former house.
“Deuteronomy 2:10” seems to be written from the point-of-view of an animal about to face extinction, and the harrowing final song, “Ezekiel 7 and the Permanent Efficacy of Grace” deals the aftermath of a murder from the murderer’s perspective.
But Darnielle treats even his most unsavory subjects with a very deep and real sense of empathy, and the result is an album which is ultimately life-affirming, despite it‘s air of bleakness. The Life of The World to Come may make some listeners uncomfortable, but it is a worthwhile listen for those willing to keep mind and ears open.
