The Mountain Goats are singer/songwriter John Darnielle (guitar), Peter Hughes (bass), and Jon Wurster (drums) and their fourteenth album Transcendental Youth finds them still mining the depths of darkness but with glimpses of light. Whether it is the inherent promise of a newborn (the birth of Darnielle’s first child brings into sharp relief the abuse he suffered from his late stepfather, which is described in The Sunset Tree) or the bright horns engineered by improvisational jazz musician Matthew E. White, on this literate set of songs broken characters are allowed to figure life out – to learn from mistakes and even triumph. Check out this moving addition to The Mountain Goat’s accomplished discography. – Written by SMarx
SIMILAR | Bright Eyes, The Extra Lens, Neutral Milk Hotel, John Vanderslice, The Weakerthans