Track Listing

1. Sax Rohmer #1
2. San Bernardino
3. Heretic Pride
4. Autoclave
5. New Zion
6. So Desperate
7. In The Craters On The Moon
8. Lovecraft In Brooklyn
9. Tianchi Lake
10. How To Embrace A Swamp Creature
11. Marduk T-Shirt Men's Room Incident
12. Sept 15 1983
13. Michael Myers Resplendent

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #21184 in Music
• Released on: 2008-02-19
• Number of discs: 1

Customer Reviews

A pretty good Mountain Goats album...
...is better than most people's best albums. And that's what this is: John D. doing basically what we've come to expect from him, repeating himself from time to time, but occasionally still hitting the perfect feeling (my favorite: the quick juxtaposition in "Autoclave" of a throne perched atop a pile of human skulls and the theme from "Cheers." Brilliant.). I personally am not into the production values...you sort of imagine him in a studio, with headphones, singing into one of those expensive microphones with screens, and suddenly he's not your fricking-genius buddy in his living room down the street any more. But here's the thing: as the Mountain Goats turns into a pop band, it reminds me more and more of the Cure. Could anyone interest Robert Smith in doing a cover album? That'd be hot.

Mountain Goats - Heretic Pride 9/10
Singer-songwriter John Darnielle's folk-rock project Mountain Goats has been a mainstay of the lo-fi scene since 1991, but it wasn't until their last release, Get Lonely, that he started receiving mainstream attention. Unlike that record's nihilistic, depressing attitude, however, Heretic Pride is a welcome breath of exquisitely produced, introspective indie rock.

First, however, one must overcome Darnielle's unique voice: an odd cross between Neutral Milk Hotel and Chris Carrabba, a rather terrifying combination. On songs like "Autoclave" it is tuneful and melodic, complementing the acoustic instrumentation well, but on ones like the title track, it can take an off-putting turn towards high-pitched and whiny.

The production, however, is what truly elevates the album. From the graceful strings of "San Bernardino" to the vibrant percussion on "In The Craters On The Moon," each track sounds fleshed-out and musically rich.

The New Yorker once called Darnielle "America's best non-hip-hop lyricists." Now coupled with an amazing production team and far less morbid subjects, Mountain Goats seem ready for even greater success.

TMG's are still at it.
So the Mountain Goats are still in the game with John Darnielle still in the lead as one of the GREATEST songwriters ever.
If you are an old school fan of TMG's, then you probably will not like this album. It still lacks the raw power of acoustimatic/tape music with the simplicity of just guitar and vocals, but also, if you were turned off by the slowness of "Get Lonely", then do not fret, this album brings back some of the great driving riffs that we have all come to know and love.
I recommend this album on vinyl over cd, but I recommend almost any album on vinyl instead of cd.
I place this album within his top 5 releases.
Strong Points:
The opening track, Saw Rohmer #1 sets the pace for the album, good strong beats and the closing track (Not counting the bonus tracks that are available online), "Michael Myers Resplendent" starts slow, but really closes the album beautifully.
Low Points:
The songs "New Zion" (Do not get me wrong, I like the track, but it is a low point of the album) and "Craters of the Moon" are the weakest songs, but are in the middle chunk of the album so they kind of slide by nicely as well.
This is also the first album with an official drummer, Jon Wurster, who recorded and is touring with them now.

In the end, check it out for sure if you like good alt/indie rock. If you miss the folk/tape music styles of the older TMG's, then you might want to pass.