Chorus.fm Record of the Week Club • Page 42

I have never been able to get into this band, but I will definitely give this a shot

 

Accountability post for me to listen to Holy Intellect (and then, presumably, go right into WSABH as God intended)

 

Holy Intellect was great. Fun beats, tight raps, great rhymes, I'll have to dive into more of PRT's catalog. I think the title track was my favorite of em all.

Listening to We Shall All Be Healed now, which is one of my less-revisited Goats albums despite having many top-tier songs.

 

I'll spin this at work tomorrow now that I have my Music League votes in

 

Okay yeah We Shall All Be Healed is, in fact, an S-tier tMG album. Do I like other albums of theirs more? Yeah, totally. Is there a single bad song on this record? No, there isn't.

 

Enjoyed this a lot. They have a really natural sound that’s easy to get into. The opener and last few songs were standouts for me—Cotton probably my fav on first listen. Funny how the vocalist for this and The Weakerthans sort of sound similar, with both being indie-folky and lyrically-forward albums. Need to listen again focusing on the words.

What else by TMG is worth checking out?

 

gonna fight the urge to say "the whole catalog"

All Hail West Texas - this was the last of the boombox (literally John recording into a Panasonic) albums prior to 2020's Songs for Pierre Chuvin (also very good). Mostly just acoustic guitar and vocals, has fan favorites/standouts like "The Best Ever Death Metal Band In Denton," "Color In Your Cheeks," and "Riches and Wonders"

Tallahassee - the one with "No Children" and many other bangers

The Sunset Tree - the one with "This Year" and many other (sad) bangers, "Up The Wolves" will make you feel powerful

Heretic Pride - this one's got a lot of variety but meshes surprisingly well

Beat the Champ - a concept record about professional wrestling, what more could you want?

Transcendental Youth - "Cry For Judas" is a ska song I will not be taking questions

 

I can never fully get into them. This one is okay, I like The Young Thousands

 

Yeah I just can't get into this band, idk what the barrier to entry is but I struggle with a lot of stuff that borders on folk-punk with that nasally vocal-style. I don't think the songwriting is bad by any means, and I'm glad I gave them another shot! But he has such a distinct type of voice and songwriting to me (which is probably why some people love him so much) that it just all sort of bleeds together into something I'm unfortunately not really into. Not everything is for everyone, though!

 

I totally get the vocals criticism, but I also feel like so many other artists in this genre (and adjacent genres) have terrible vocals in comparison that this didn’t bother me. Really gave me shades of John Samson or a folkier Brian Warren.

 

I was out of town last week and fell off for a minute. Just listened to Holy Intellect. It's a lot of fun. I think I recognize a handful of beats, not sure if they were sampled from this, or for this. Not something I would seek out on my own, but glad I gave it a shot.

I'll listen to the Mountain Goats soon

 

I usually enjoy The Mountain Goats whenever I listen to them, but I rarely find myself going back to their albums after I listen to them once or twice. I've gone back to Beat the Champ the most out of the ones I've listened to (love pro wrestling). After finishing this one I feel like it's gonna go the same route as the others. I did enjoy it though. I feel like the second half was a bit stronger than the first half.

 

This is kind of a weird album in the Mountain Goats discography. Musically, it's often calling back to the boombox era ("Home Again Garden Grove") or hinting at the more contemplative albums to come ("Your Belgian Things," "Mole," "Cotton). It kind of feels like a tentative step into being a proper band that lacks a solid identity of its own, especially coming in between two totemic albums in John's career. It's probably most notable for being one of only two largely autobiographical TMG albums, and the subject matter is often really bleak, which might be another reason I don't revisit it much. So while I like parts of it, it's probably pretty low in my TMG ranking, and not one I'd ever recommend as an entry point to the band.

 

That is interesting to note as someone who has never listened before this album. What would you rec as a better entry point?

 

I like All Hail West Texas and The Sunset Tree the most out of any that I’ve heard

 

The Sunset Tree (the other autobiographical album, if that's an interesting thread for you) is probably going to be the consensus answer, and at the very least check out "This Year," their most popular song along with "No Children."

Aside from that, there are two branching paths. If you like the lo-fi boombox sound, go to All Hail West Texas and work backwards. If you like the full band stuff, head straight for Transcendental Youth. Some of John's best writing, and wonderful horn arrangements on that one.

 

Holy Intellect was fantastic. I’ve always loved the instrumental style of late 80s early 90s hip hop. The lyrics can be corny at times (see the tooting/polluting line), but overall there’s a lot to love. I’m keeping this one in the rotation for a bit.

 

I’d be interested in hearing your opinions on their album Goths. I don’t know if it would sway you any direction but I feel like maybe you’d get something out of it you could appreciate

Enjoying these responses!! Listening to Holy Intellect now and I’ll post my responses tomorrow. This is the kinda stuff I am very unfamiliar with so excited to jam it

 

I totally get the criticisms about John's vocals, but that style does not bother me. But one of my favourite things about the band is his lyricism and, I guess, to that point his vocals. A lot of his output is either polished or rougher to boil it down to a general sense and to me the consistent thing between them has always been his vocals and his approach to writing lyrics. There are some TMG albums that don’t hit quite as hard as others, some that I have to spend some time with to appreciate, and others I just don’t care for as much. John’s writing has always shined through all that as my main reason for falling in love with them

 

Enjoyed the opener — instantly imagined it as an early Morrissey solo song — and then wasn't that bothered until I suddenly found myself being charmed by the imperfect, dreary melancholy of All Up The Seething Coast, and then enjoyed the last four songs.

Will give it at least a couple of relistens to establish a firmer opinion but I've added five songs to a playlist already. Cool choice.

 

I've gone back and forth on like 5-6 different options to share for my turn tomorrow -- all of which are unknown (or at least unspoken about) on this site. Excited to share. I think I've landed on a selection, but hopefully this thread lives long enough for me to share the runner-ups for later rounds.

 

Dude's about to pick Angelic 2 The Core

 

We Shall Be Healed is so good. Every time I listen to the Mountain Goats, I love it. But I almost never think to throw them on, really weird.

Will listen a few more times when I’m not at work so I can read the lyrics too

 

I’ve never clicked with The Mountain Goats and I think the lyrics are largely what turn me off. I’ve just never liked that lyrical style. This didn’t click much with me for the same reason, but I still enjoyed the instrumentals. Against Pollution is an example of where I love everything except the lyrics. Home Again Garden Grove is the one track that fully works for me, perhaps because of the lo-fi sound.

 

@Wharf Rat you’re up