Spellbinding
For those who have missed out on the plentiful treats that the Mountain Goats offer, this is a band who balance tenderness and aggression perfectly and precariously, like two sides of the same intriguing coin. Their emotions are those that are integral to all of humanity, and they display them in gripping and engrossing tunes.
The song titles on ‘The Life of the World to Come’ all refer to Bible verses, but John Darnielle has repeatedly emphasised that this is not a religious album, more one that uses religious imagery to connect with people and provoke a reaction. Whatever the Bible means to you, it’s impossible to overlook the fact that its pages contain some of the richest stories known to mankind, and Darnielle weaves Biblical details and his own personal responses into his typical love stories and confessional tales, so don’t be put off by the holy touch.
The album starts off the slow acoustic ‘1 Samuel 15:23’, which slowly settles you into an attentive state of mind where you pick up on Darnielle’s lyrical dexterity, before you’re hit between the eyes with the glorious might of ‘Psalms 40:2’, which sports swaggering guitars and fierce vocals with a maddened edge. ‘Genesis 3:23’ is probably the best example of Darnielle’s scriptural interpretations; the Garden of Eden is replaced by a house “up in Clearlake” to which the singer is returning in a surprisingly upbeat and reflective number that blusters along with a certain glee.
‘Genesis 30:3’ has, at its heart, a series of measured major and minor piano chords, but combined with Darnielle’s quivering vocals, they create a real tearjerker that marks the midpoint of the album. If ‘Genesis 30:3’ is the album’s central peak, then ‘Ezekiel 7 and the Permanent Efficacy of Grace’ is its worthy closer, a moving, beautiful and tender piano-based number with swelling chords.
‘The Life of the World to Come’ is a spell-binding album that improves on every listen, each tune is a tense, taught story waiting to unwind with perfect instrumental pauses and raw but wonderfully choreographed emotions. The band’s 6th album feels significantly more focused on the impact of individuals instruments against Darnielle’s delicate narratives than its predecessor ‘Heretic Pride’.