Yawn.....what's this....another excellent Mountain Goats album you say? It'd be a surprise, at this point, for the Darnielle MG-5000 to take a detour into crunkcore and not come out with a superb record.
John Darnielle, you've done it again! The music is so rich and varied, thanks to the great production and the decision to write as a full band this time around. Right now, I'd say this is their/his best since The Sunset Tree (in terms of being well-rounded all throughout). Too good.
It's definitely a lot more 'Cleaned-Up' than his only other album I've listened to (Coroner's Gambit), but it doesn't take away from it. There's a bit of emotion that's been lost, but the skill and the love for the music remains. 3.7/5
John Darnielle hasn't made a bad record in, well, ever. No surprises that this is great. His songs may not reel you in like they once did, but at this point he's still got more than what it takes to keep us dangling on the line waiting for each new release.
