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The Mountain Goats We Shall All Be Healed Released in 2004 9.4/10 Styles Folk Lo-Fi Singer/Songwriter Song Highlights Letter From Belgium The Young Thousands Home Again Garden Grove |
The Mountain Goats are all about two things - intensity and emotion. Prior to their major-label debut, 2001's Tallahassee, the band recorded most of their material directly onto a generic, department store boombox. The quality of the recording was never very important, because the unpolished, raw sound seemed to match vocalist John Darnielle's unpolished, raw vocals quite nicely. This year sees the release of the group's tenth album, We Shall All Be Healed, and despite being recorded in a fully equipped studio, the album is still all about intensity and emotion. The quieter tracks on the album are always a delight, with Darnielle's vocals always heartfelt and touchingly honest. However, it's the more upbeat tracks, such as "Letter From Belgium," "The Young Thousands" and "Home Again Garden Grove," that see The Mountain Goats at their exceptional best. There is little doubt that this group is entirely Darnielle's - when his enigmatic vocals aren't stealing the show, it's his brilliant, rapid fire strumming, with the hollow twang of his steel string acoustic guitar complementing those raw vocals perfectly. His voice always sits on top of the mix, so the studio production rarely drowns him out. As such, the songs (particularly those upbeat ones) take on a wonderful feeling of urgency and immediacy, as though he could easily be singing right there in front of you. Darnielle shows once again that he is undoubtably one of the best (if not the best) vocalists of his style. We Shall All Be Healed is another excellent entry in The Mountain Goats' catalogue, and comes very highly recommended. |