FRESH BAKED
The Mountain Goats
Satanic Messiah EP
2008 | Cadmean Dawn
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It seems an unnecessary exercise at this point, to attempt to convert any of John Darnielle’s disbelievers. He’s really only one of two things: either the best young songwriter of the past decades, or a cloying and over-hyped nasal howl, keening along in the general din. His adorers are fearless and devoted, while those unengaged or disinclined are viciously stubborn and unforgiving. So, while I could attempt proselytizing, while I could quote “Going to Georgia” or “Broom People” or “Quito” or that perennial crowd favorite, “No Children,” it seems safer to assume that The Mountain Goats’ output is polarizing in the truest sense and that no conversion is possible. You either hold Darnielle’s songs in your heart as living beasts, or you dismiss him as just another songwriter. He is either one of the true great living authors, or simply another dude with a guitar.

So, I’ll assume that if you’re reading, still, then you want to read about The Mountain Goats, that you track their progress as ardently as a God-fearing congregant, that the release of a four-song EP, like Satanic Messiah, is of utmost critical interest. Because that’s what Darnielle inspires: disinterest or (perhaps) overzealous enthusiasm.
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