| The Mountain Goats - Get Lonely |
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| Written by Rob van Alstyne | |
| Wednesday, October 31, 2007 at 03:50 PM | |
 The Mountain GoatsGet Lonely www.themountaingoats.net www.mountain-goats.com The appeal of John Darnielle’s music has always lain more in his words than his melodies. That’s not to say that Darnielle (who’s been recording riveting folk songs under the Mountain Goats Moniker for more than a dozen years) doesn’t write memorable songs—he’s written scores of them—it just means that when one attempts to convert a new fan to the quirky pleasures of Darnielle’s tunes it’s more often through quoting some particularly poetic lyrics than in describing the group’s musical trappings. This was a forgivable enough sin during the first half of Darnielle’s career, when he was a short story spinning acoustic punk strummer with a hissy boombox for a recording studio- but it’s becoming less and less forgivable with each passing release. Back in 2003 Darnielle made the leap to a larger record label (4AD) and its attendant “real” recording studios and he’s never looked back. Darnielle’s harshly nasal bark is in mellow retreat throughout Get Lonely, operating instead in a timorous talk singing register perfectly suited for a set of songs that deal with trying to find solace in a solitary life after the collapse of a pivotal romantic relationship. Throughout the album Darnielle’s still rudimentary acoustic guitar patterns are fleshed out by drums, pianos, strings and electric bass infusing songs that often have an incredibly dark lyrical center with an oddly buoyant feel. The prime example is “Half Dead” a loping mid-tempo ballad with country rock guitar fills, warm swathes of xylophone and gently brushed drums offsetting the tale of a grief stricken man sulking his way through the day at home (“It was raining outside, so I cleaned house today. Spent half of the morning, throwing old things away. Try not to get caught up, try to think like a machine. Focus in on the task, try not to think about what it means. Can't get you out of my head. Lost without you, half dead.”). Elsewhere, on the title track, the music (doleful horn snippets, tear jerking strings) manages to be as mournful as the lyrics (“And I will get lonely and gasp for air. And send your name up from my lips like a signal flare”). Although Darnielle isn’t exactly forging a new path here by choosing to examine the detritus of a failed romance in song, his unerring eye for detail elevates Get Lonely beyond the level of rote heartbroken ruminations into something far more harrowing. “Woke Up New” in particular drives home the point that in the wake of a collapsed relationship the ghost of the departed hangs over even life’s tiniest moments: “The first time I made coffee for just myself, I made too much of it. But I drank it all, just 'cause you hate it when I let things go to waste. And I wandered through the house, like a little boy lost at the mall. And an astronaut could've seen the hunger in my eyes from space.” Darnielle’s affecting vocals and lyricism remain the star of the show, but Get Lonely shows the continued expansion of his confidence in employing collaborators and using the studio as its own creative force. Loneliness has never sounded more appealing than on the piano led torch ballad “Song For Lonely Giants,” a song whose musical motif is actually more memorable than its lyrics—something of a Mt. Goats first. Listen to "New Monster Avenue" from Get Lonely COMING UP: The Mt. Goats perfrorm with opening act the Bowerbirds on Wed, Oct. 31 at the 400 Bar . 9 pm. $15. 18+. |
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| Last Updated: Thursday, November 1, 2007 at 04:43 PM |
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