“I became a crystal healer and my ministry was to the sick
Creeping vines would send out runners and seek me in their numbers
I sold self-help tapes
Go down to the netherworld, plant grapes”
Not another folk-indie band! Bear with me: I’m sick and can only stomach acoustic music for now. The Mountain Goats (reference to Screamin’ Jay Hawkins) are a Durham-based band headed by singer/songwriter John Darnielle. The Life of the World to Come, their 2009 album, is comprised of twelve characteristically low-fi tracks named after bible verses. Is it just me, or can Jimi’s “Hey Joe” be heard in the eerie “1 Samuel 15:23″? If there’s one thing to be said about The Mountain Goats, it’s that their music emphasizes the importance of lyrics — the instrumentation serves to highlight the preaching of Darnielle. Listening to The Mountain Goats is the closest I will ever get to some beach hootenanny of a past era, and for that I thank them. Simplistic and intelligent.
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