The Mountain Goats - 'Letter From Belgium' (4AD)
4/5
By: Austin Louis Ray
It's OK. We have to be honest. It is our duty.
The Mountain Goats' most recent album, 'We Shall All Be Healed', was a bit of a let-down. Expectations were high and all, what with head Goat John Darnielle bringing in expert soundman and compelling singer-songwriter John Vanderslice to twiddle the knobs for the release, but for some reason, the album just doesn't hold up - especially when compared to Darnielle's back catalogue. But really, it's OK.
However, 'Letter from Belgium' is one of 'WSABH''s more inspired moments. Much of the credit must go to the tune's lyrics, which are, at times, creative, insightful, odd and humorous. Let's peruse a few of the highlights:
• 'Martin called to say he's sending old electrical equipment. That's good. We could always use some more electrical equipment.'
• 'Susan and her notebook. Freehand drawings of Lon Cheney. Blueprints of geodesic domes. Recipes for cake.'
• 'When we walk out in the sunlight, we tell everyone we know it hurts our eyes, when the real reason we don't like it is that it makes us wonder if we're dying.'
True to its namesake, the song does indeed play out like a note from a friend who's away and describing the new setting in an effort to make it feel like home. It's quirky and excellent - the kind of thing we've come to expect from Darnielle, sub par albums be damned.
EP-extras 'Nova Scotia' and 'Attention all Pickpockets' naturally don't shine like the single, but are decent enough additions; the former is an incredibly sparse number where Darnielle sounds like he's projecting his vocals through a small recorder, while the latter, which, according to its introduction, had no title at the time of recording, is understated and uneventful, just Darnielle and his acoustic.
What can we learn from this? Well, even if a true gem of a musician like John Darnielle doesn't always operate on all cylinders, it's nice to hear he can still crank out a solid tune in the ilk of 'Letter from Belgium'. Here's to looking forward to another album from The Mountain Goats; seemingly, he's still got it in him to be far more than just OK.
Artists in this article: The Mountain Goats
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