Search - Mountain Goats :: All Hail West Texas

A great songwriter who should not go unnoticed

Chris Edwards | East Texas | 01/08/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I went for years being aware of the cult of John Darnielle, but never really looking into the music he makes under the nom de record, The Mountain Goats, until in the last year. While his latest records are more polished creations, the earlier releases, such as "All Hail West Texas" are truly honest gems. Darnielle may be one of the best "right below the surface" songwriters in all of popular music. His voice, and unique way of storytelling are pretty much without peer in popular music. Sure, people play and sing like him in coffeeshops all across America, but it's rare and refreshing to hear something like this on record. Songs such as "The Fall of the Star High School Running Back" and "The Best Ever Death Metal Band Out of Denton" brim with unique wit and insight, while songs like "Jenny" present Darnielle's impeccable attention to detail. While The Mountain Goats may be an acquired taste to many, for people who love honest, raw guitar and voice committed to tape, you should definitely check this (and any other Mt. Goats record) out."

Perhaps the last TRUE mountain goats record?

Davy | Athens, GA | 08/01/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"john darnielle, my second favorite person in all of music next to stephen malkmus (sorry john), cannot write a bad song, it's just not within his capabilities as a performer. while this set of raw, guitar-only, tape-hissy tunes isn't quite as memorable or poignant as his two previous efforts--to me at least--there are a few songs that stand out as career highlights: "best ever death metal band," "jenny", and "faultlines" are excellent examples of darnielle's acerbic wit, as well as his devastatingly accurate portrayals of relationships in distress. stand-outs "the mess inside" and "source decay" are two of his finest story-songs.



here's hoping this won't go down as john's last direct-to-boombox recording. some things just sound right, you know?"

My favorite Goats album...

aloverofgreysilentdays | boston, ma | 06/09/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I own a few Goats albums and this is my favorite - The lyrics are terribly brilliant - from start to finish this album, with it's ridiculously low-budget production values and flawed guitar strums is warm, full of life - brimming with humanity, flaws and all - Darnelle is so full of charm and intelligence, and these songs potray his quirky personality quite well. Seeing The Mountain Goats live recently was tremendous and an encore performance of the song "Jenny" from this album reminded me of how much I love it - a voice, a guitar, and a hissing tape recorder - it shouldn't be as good as it is, but it is - another little miracle I guess...Enjoy!"