We Shall Be Healed
4AD
2004
Rating: 7 pig vultures out of 10
This Mountain Goats album continues along the same path that John Darnielle started down last year with his first major label release on 4AD titled “Tallahassee”. That is to say, for the most part he’s stepped away from the Mountain Goats of the past, which was just him, his guitar, and an old boom box to record on, in favor of a richer and fuller sound involving collaborations with other musicians; in the case of this album, those musicians include Peter Hughes (DiskothiQ), Franklin Bruno (Nothing Painted Blue), Christopher McGuire (12 Rods), and engineered by John Vanderslice. Honestly, to me it still sounds like the same ol’ Mountain Goats, only with a little backing music and recorded on proper equipment, but no doubt there are those purists out there who hate it. For everyone else, this album is yet another argument for the fact that Darnielle is one of the best songwriters happening today, and a riveting live performer as well. Particularly stand-out tracks include “Palmcorder Yanja”, “The Young Thousands”, and “All Up the Seething Coast”.
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