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Song titles are rarely creative. Often a phrase or simply a word, usually one that is repeated ad nauseum, is plucked from the song and—bam—a title is born. But it isn’t always this way for the Mountain Goats. Never a songwriter to take the easy way out, John Darnielle takes the time to thoughtfully choose a title that adds extra significance to his work, one that often isn’t even actually a part of the song’s interior content.
Take for instance “No Children”, the vitriolic anthem in which the most self-destructive couple in the Sunshine State wish death upon each other—and themselves—and never mention anything about kids. But dear lord, could you imagine what would happen if the Alphas ever had children? They’d make the most venomous, self-absorbed parents this side of Jon and Kate.
In much the same way, The Life of the World to Come takes the Mountain Goat’s ability to title to the next level. Every song is named after a specific bible verse. The titles, like all the best ones, provide some extra, multi-layered context—enough to send even the most devout atheists to the nearest hotel room looking for a bible to comb through. For example, “Genesis 3:23” refers to the passage in which Adam and Eve are cast out of Eden. Given the titular context, the chorus (“I used to live here”) takes on a loftier significance.
But fear not. Darnielle’s made it quite clear he hasn’t undergone some born-again reawakening a la a Growing Pains-era Kirk Cameron. He’s simply connecting with an introspective desire to reflect on a big unknown via spiritual means. In other words, even if you haven’t been to Sunday school since second grade, you’ll grasp the obvious themes of loss, redemption, and eternal life.
The Life of the World is clearly a...
Read more at Crawdaddy.wolfsgang.com
LINER NOTES:
The Mountain Goats have been making records since that mythical time
when the term “tape-only label” didn’t require any elaborate explanation,
but have been recording and touring in their current incarnation since
2007. That current incarnation consists of John Darnielle, Peter Hughes
& Jon Wurster, who, having toured Australia, England, and the U.S.
several times (and a cruise ship once), recorded The Life of the World to
Come across three studios with three producers from April through June
of 2009: with Brandon Eggleston at Chicago’s Electrical Audio; with
John Congleton at Sonic Ranch in Tornillo, Texas; and with Scott Solter
at Baucom Road in Monroe, North Carolina. Owen Pallet, with whom
the band shared a stage in Australia this past January at the Meredith
Music Festival, arranged & played strings. The Life of the World to
Come’s 12 songs all originate, one way or another, in the Bible, though
none of the band, as of press time, had joined the Vineyard Fellowship.