Review Summary: Turns out that the man who has a million albums also has a million EPs
If one were to limit their experience with The Mountain Goats to just John Darnielle's long-players they might think that they've heard it all, and given that he's had fourteen albums released under the name that would be a rather safe guess, but they would be wrong. Not only has he released more EP's and 7 inches than the already stacked resume at the longer end (most of his earlier EP releases can be found on a series of compilations on Ajax records), these lesser known gems in the cloven canon also contain some of Darnielle's best numbers. While the prevailing knowledge of the internet states that
Nine Black Poppies is the first of the Mountain Goats EP's which the uninitiated should be grabbing for, that's just because A. “Cubs in 5” might just be the most humorous song he's put to tape and B. it's one of the few that's still in print. A deeper search leads straight to 2002's
Devil in the Shortwave.
Released at the apex of his five year stint of genius that brought us not only his best lo-fi works with
The Coroner's Gambit but also the first of his studio recorded albums in the form of three flawless concept albums that are still to this day fan favorites,
Devil in the Shortwave is a wonderously packaged slice of the best of Darnielle's early career. Whether it's the tethered tension and forlorn twang of “Yoga” or the humorous yet bleak satire of “Crows”, Darnielle weaves a beautiful of web of personal stories and hidden emotion that is equal parts melancholy and escapism. Yet it is the EP's closing track “Commandante” which stands out among his strongest, not only out of the five tracks included on the release but out of his entire career. It is playful, it is honest, but most of all it is a perfectly layered mix of heart and smarts that is so often attempted by so many but rarely mastered to such a lovely extent as it is here. So while you may think that you've heard all that that the Mountain Goats have to offer, chances are you haven't even begun to scratch the surface and there's no better place to start than
Devil in the Shortwave
