Search - Mountain Goats :: Sweden

My favorite Mountain Goats CD

sde10 | Ann Arbor, MI USA | 08/02/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Great stuff here. If you're looking for intelligent lyrics full of mirth and sadness, this is the place. If your looking for a great singer and complex musical arrangements, move right along now. The Mountain Goats are masters of the former and Sweden is their most complete work.I will ocassionally go many months between listening to this CD and every time I do, a new song emerges as my favorite. Currently, it is 'Prana Ferox,' which while telling a story of moonshine whiskey and a heat wave, makes one feel happy to be alive. Snow Crush Killing Song and Sept. 19 Triple X Love! Love! are other highlights. And Cold Milk Bottle is the best telling off of God there is, beating out Jed Bartlett in the West Wing's Season 2 finale. While there are a few songs that don't stand out--like FM and Tollund Man--there are none that are bad.The best thing I can say about this CD is that is incredibly rewarding. Every time you listen to the lyrics, you discover another beautiful nugget. I'm sure next year, I'll listen to the CD again and pay closer attention to FM then I ever did before and start raving about it instead of the other songs."

A great introduction for first time listeners

William Schaff (samsa1973@aol.com) | America | 11/07/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"From an old fan's perspective this album is a wonderful start for people curious about the Mountain Goats. Thematic in alot of it's songs without sacrificing the beautiufl singularity of a pop classic. Yet it is more. The way in which the songs are recorded add to the impact as much as the jam-packed narrative lyrics. this album is the second to last album to inlcude the duo of John Darnielle and Rachelle ?. This captures them in a time period of technical and musical innocence that reflects both the freshness of the earlier work and the more polished sounds to be found on later albums. For folks in love with good harmonies, acoustic guitars and sad stories."

Love can hurt. The Montain Goats are here for you.

William Schaff (samsa1973@aol.com) | 11/10/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Mountain Goats is actually a man by the name of John Darnielle. What this man does with just an acoustic guitar and a voice really has to be heard to be properly understood. You may not be a fan of singer-songwriter types but that's O.K. Neither am I. The Mountain Goas are different. Trust me. On first listen yu will probably notice a couple of things. The recording quality. Darnielle records many of his songs at home on an ordinary tape recorder. That's O.K. The next thing you will notice is his voice. You may not like it. That's O.K. LISTEN TO THE ALBUM. The elegance of his words and the brilliance of his phrasing will sink in. Everything will fall into place. Everything is as it should be. Perfect. This album is about loss. The feeling of desperation you feel when the only person you've ever loved begins to slip away. Sweden conveys those emotions with more honesty than any album I can think of. In particular, "Snow Crush Killing Song". When Darnielle softly sings, "I know you're changing...god damn you for that." you will know. This is a truly beautiful collection of songs. One of those albums that doesn't quite hit you on the first listen but digs in deep with repeated plays. Once it's in, it's in and John Darnielle is your friend for life."