each month (or whenever I feel like it), I dig up a classic LP that I like and write about how you shoud like it too. I call this column, “albums you may have missed.” Which is slightly less catchy than my first pick, “regurgivomit”
I wish I could remember when I began to love The Mountain Goats. It seems like they’ve been with me forever. Fronted by an unusually honest and creative song writer, John Darnielle, TMG carries the prostigious distinction of never having published a bad album. But top of the pile for me has to be Tallahassee
Let me tell you what this album has goind for it: 1) it has 3 double letters in the title. 2) two-thirds of the thank you paragraph is dedicated to artists, supporters, retailers, and publishers of “ambient dub.” [this album is NOT ambient dub]. And that is before I even get to the music. Darnielle’s embrace of Americana, folk and indie rock bleeds manages to blend with his pointed, hard-sung lyrics. This album features what has to be one of the best breakup songs ever published, in “No Children,” that features vitriolic lyrics like I hope I lie/ and tell everyone that you were a good wife. Tallahasse features more electrified instrumentation than TMGs later albums, and seems perfectly suited for road trips. You’ll still find some of Darnielle’s mellower side coming out on specific songs, but the song writing is strong enough not to let you get lulled by the acoustics.
The standout track for me is “See America Right,” a burst of hard drums over vocals sung through an old bullhorn. It’s short, only about a buck fifty, but it fits a lot in. Love, abandonment, drinking, arrest, etc.
