The bouncing roll of the guitar in this is an early example of one of my favourite John tropes: the jolly, catchy song about how depressed the singer is and

The bouncing roll of the guitar in this is an early example of one of my favourite John tropes: the jolly, catchy song about how depressed the singer is and how much everything is terrible. Well, that's dismissive. It's not just about that, although the it made me wish I

A delightful little folky number, four verses about four trees with different personalities and characteristics, with a delightful sting in the tail about the last one. This song is insubstantial,

A delightful little folky number, four verses about four trees with different personalities and characteristics, with a delightful sting in the tail about the last one. This song is insubstantial, but delightful in its insubstantiality. It's a small growth in a woodland glade, away from people, with an abundance of

It's the quiet ones that get me. I love a bit of big jangly guitar, and as we get onto full band numbers there are going to be some amazing

It's the quiet ones that get me. I love a bit of big jangly guitar, and as we get onto full band numbers there are going to be some amazing things going on, but something about soft picking and near whispered vocals captures something pure in this music. This isn't

With this title it won't come as much surprise that this is a very country-inflected song in a good way. it's warm and dark with points of light and convivial

With this title it won't come as much surprise that this is a very country-inflected song in a good way. it's warm and dark with points of light and convivial voices singing about dark things. The major detail that strikes me lyrically about this song is you looked real calm

So we're very much into the era of Mountain Goats songs being delightful little bops. This is a magical pastoral number, with spells under the surface and a strong fundamental

So we're very much into the era of Mountain Goats songs being delightful little bops. This is a magical pastoral number, with spells under the surface and a strong fundamental presence of nature. Actually, that's wrong. What's present here isn't nature. it's rural domesticity. And in an increasingly urban world

It might be the very live at a dive bar recording, but there is something delightfully and atmospherically nineties about this song. It might also be that half of the

It might be the very live at a dive bar recording, but there is something delightfully and atmospherically nineties about this song. It might also be that half of the chord sequence is Stars by Hum which is one of my favourite songs from the nineties. But the overall effect

The first thing that strikes me about this mix of spoken word and soaring vocals is that this might be the strongest that John's voice has sounded so far. In

The first thing that strikes me about this mix of spoken word and soaring vocals is that this might be the strongest that John's voice has sounded so far. In this song of love and isolation and the continual background fear of potential violence we hear a voice that is

Ah, a bad recording in a very different way than other ones. This is a radio recording of a live show, complete with proper radio hiss, and is one of

Ah, a bad recording in a very different way than other ones. This is a radio recording of a live show, complete with proper radio hiss, and is one of the only versions of this absolute ramp of a song. It's about love and guns and youth and death and

A chaotic descent of a sing, frantic chords and a low low riff on loose strings. This is a jangly open chord burst of burning paranoia, all signifiers and urgency.

A chaotic descent of a sing, frantic chords and a low low riff on loose strings. This is a jangly open chord burst of burning paranoia, all signifiers and urgency. There's a couple of versions of this, each from a confused and paranoid narrator to an unnamed but seemingly untrustworthy

Ich weiß nicht, warum dieses Lied mit einer Frau beginnt, die Deutsch spricht. This becomes a soothing soft keyboard song with the smallest hint of menace in it. An odd

Ich weiß nicht, warum dieses Lied mit einer Frau beginnt, die Deutsch spricht. This becomes a soothing soft keyboard song with the smallest hint of menace in it. An odd late night sound with a vocal that seems like it's trying not to be heard in another room. It very

I don't know why, but listening to this I found myself thinking of Walt Whitman and Wallace Stevens. Something about the intersection of the universal and timeless and the immediate.

I don't know why, but listening to this I found myself thinking of Walt Whitman and Wallace Stevens. Something about the intersection of the universal and timeless and the immediate. This is a cynical song about hope. About the wonderful things we wish for and don't get. About the darkness

Yes, this day doesn't exist this year, but this song does. Well, kind of. This is an unreleased song that exists largely in bootlegs. The particular version I heard was

Yes, this day doesn't exist this year, but this song does. Well, kind of. This is an unreleased song that exists largely in bootlegs. The particular version I heard was a 1999 bootleg from CBGBs, which displays probably more passion than skill. I've also linked a 2024 version. There's something

A burst of jangly energy here, covering a song that functions as an inverse love song. That feeling of having your day darken simply by someone's existence making itself known.

A burst of jangly energy here, covering a song that functions as an inverse love song. That feeling of having your day darken simply by someone's existence making itself known. I'm always fascinated by anti-romance in songs. The feeling of strong passion about someone, yearning even, but only negative passion.

The roll of this song is intense as it searches thought yearning and explores different concepts. This is an era of Mountain Goats songs that all feel like they take

The roll of this song is intense as it searches thought yearning and explores different concepts. This is an era of Mountain Goats songs that all feel like they take place at night in open places, and there's a certain mentality that the open creates in those places. During the

It takes a moment for the unstandard chords of this to settle, and the effect is interestingly unsettling and fits well with plaintive nostalgic lyrics about a love of the

It takes a moment for the unstandard chords of this to settle, and the effect is interestingly unsettling and fits well with plaintive nostalgic lyrics about a love of the past that clearly had doom in its core even if it had joy in the moment and regret in its

Sometimes a Mountain Goats song sounds like a letter from a lighthouse keeper in the middle of an ocean, recording the ways in which he spends his time and his

Sometimes a Mountain Goats song sounds like a letter from a lighthouse keeper in the middle of an ocean, recording the ways in which he spends his time and his sanity while waiting for relief and for someone to send his missives to. This is a song that can be

God, this is catchy. God this is catchy. A life and a travelogue in a song that lives in being close part harmony between a male and female voice. This

God, this is catchy. God this is catchy. A life and a travelogue in a song that lives in being close part harmony between a male and female voice. This is joyful and desperate and brimming over with love and need and no way back. I'm put in mind of

Back to the tape recorder, for this very claustrophobic track. Maybe it's just the headphones and the layers of sound but I felt like this song was coming at me

Back to the tape recorder, for this very claustrophobic track. Maybe it's just the headphones and the layers of sound but I felt like this song was coming at me from every side at once. The song itself is a rich chaos, double tracked vocals and dissonant memories. Blood and

And welcome back to folk territory. The guitar and vocals are soft and meditative storytelling, allowing the lyrics to perform a one-two punch of undermining and then reinforcing. Let's not

And welcome back to folk territory. The guitar and vocals are soft and meditative storytelling, allowing the lyrics to perform a one-two punch of undermining and then reinforcing. Let's not beat around the bush: this song is built around a pun. And as with the best pastiche is works largely

Folks, I don't want to freak you out, but I just heard an electric guitar. And multi-instrumentation. We're onto a new album here with new production standards. We are a

Folks, I don't want to freak you out, but I just heard an electric guitar. And multi-instrumentation. We're onto a new album here with new production standards. We are a long way from the rumble grumble of John's tape recorder and a lot closer to, well, indie music of 1995.