The Coroner's Gambit

 (15 customer reviews)

Not only is John Darnielle a thoroughly nice guy, but he's currently making some of the most literate and emotive music under the radar. Look, lets be honest if you like your records with industrial strength studio polish and nary a bum note or fluffed string in sight, then this isn't for you. If you understand the idea that humans make mistakes, and that trying to erase your mistakes, and attain perfection only makes you less human, than welcome to what will become one of the soundtracks to your lives...the honest, the witty, the tender, the empathetic and just plain bloody wonderful Mountain Goats.
Too many great tracks on this one to mention. Just listen.

For new listeners to the Mountain Goats, an important thing to understand is that there are two distinct Mountain Goat eras. The first is often called "lo-fi." These include such albums as Sweden, All Hail West Texas, Zipolte Machine, and collections like Ghana. Most of these albums are recorded on a boom box, with John Darnielle solo on vocal and guitar, and the occasional accompaniment of one or two other artists. The second era is the studio era initiated with Tallahassee, growing in complexity with We Shall All Be Healed, and reaching its artistic pinnacle with The Sunset Tree. Straddling these two eras stands "The Coroner's Gambit."

On Gambit, John has reached full maturity as a lyricist. Songs such as The Alphonse Mambo, Baboon, and Family Happiness show a depth of imagery and complexity of emotions that rival those of the Sunset Tree. And, it's difficult to listen to Trick Mirror without concluding that this song is as much about his abusive childhood as the...Read more

The Mountain Goats are one of the few bands that I cant hear enough of. The purity of the words, the lack of pretension within the music, and the simplicity of the production. Low fidelity, high anxiety. This is a masterpiece, their isnt a track that I tire of, I sit and listen again and again as each line is rattled out. If you want something that you can have on as background music whilst you do something else then this is not for you, but if like me you like to be challenged by your music, if you need something that demands your attention then here is a supreme album.I have great respect for the power of words but it is so easy to move from genuine heart felt sentiment to gushy pathetic pop stereotypes but not here. The lyrics that manifest themselves on this album are of the highest quality, often warm, sometime scathing and always passionate.My wife would bear testimony to the fact that it has rarely been off my CD player since I unpacked it, superb, but not for...Read more