The Mountain Goats - Get Lonely
Rating
RIYL
ShearwaterElliot Smith
The Decemberists
Ryan Adams
Tracklist
1. Wild Sage2. New Monster Avenue
3. Half Dead
4. Get Lonely
5. Maybe Sprout Wings
6. Moon Over Goldsboro
7. In The Hidden Places
8. Song For Lonely Giants
9. Woke Up New
10. If You See Light
11. Cobra Tattoo
12. In Corolla
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Though making music since more than a decade ago, it wasn’t until more recently that John Darnielle began to receive the attention he deserved. Albums like Tallahassee and All Hail West Texas quickly became classics, and even We Shall All Be Healed received a fair amount of praise, but it wasn’t until last year’s The Sunset Tree that the Mountain Goats began to receive the press they deserved all along. A national tour following the album’s release saw the group playing numerous sold out shows and the album also received positive reviews in publications such as Spin and Rolling Stone. With that said, it is no surprise to see Darnielle and company are back a year and a half later with Get Lonely, an album that, like all of Darnielle’s work, chronicles a period of time in his life with which he dedicates a serious amount of heartfelt reflection.
Where The Sunset Tree focused on Darnielle’s trying childhood, Get Lonely is a reflection on his loneliness, as well as documentation of attempts at preoccupying himself so as not to be consumed with said loneliness. Where previous albums have had their ups and down emotionally, Get Lonely is much more melancholy and seems to focus on gentle and muted melodies, backed with Darnielle’s acoustic guitar, as well as several other classical instruments. Altogether, this album is much more reserved than much of the group’s back catalog, which is both unique and refreshing considering last year’s success.
“Moon Over Goldsboro” and “Get Lonely” are two songs that seem to successfully capture the essence of Darnielle’s loneliness as well solidify the album’s main theme. Darnielle sings with such sincerity and pain that it is obvious this album’s focus could not have been any other way. Where past albums have had their lighter side, the composition of this album shows that Darnielle has been meditating on the ideology of loneliness so intently that it has given him an album’s worth of material which stands tall amongst his past achievements, as well as apart from them.
Though this album is much darker than previous works from the Mountain Goats, it’s likely to please both long time fans and first time listeners. Darnielle’s solid song writing is once again in play and the album’s theme is boldly portrayed throughout each and every song. Get Lonely is another album full of classics and is another pleasing chapter in the chronicles of Darnielle’s life.
--Josh Tabbia
Comments
Austin
The Daily Galaxy
An elephant that never forgets...to kill!
Minnesota
Whoa... and I thought I was the only one on this planet that thought that. I totally agree.
Find me EVERYWHERE:
Austin
The Daily Galaxy
An elephant that never forgets...to kill!
UK
Anytown USA
You play to win the game.
two statements of fact.