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| Track List: 1. The Best Ever Death Metal Band In Denton 2. Fall Of The Star High School Running Back 3. Color In Your Cheeks 4. Jenny 5. Fault Lines 6. Balance 7. Pink And Blue 8. Riches And Wonders 9. The Mess Inside 10. Jeff Davis County Blues 11. Distant Stations 12. Blues In Dallas 13. Source Decay 14. Absolute Lithops Effect Running time: 41 minutes Released: 2002 |
This is vintage Mountain Goats. Whilst plenty of time could be wasted trying to somehow unravel the cryptic tagline (right there in the image, folks!), it is much easier to simply sit back and listen to the songs that emerged, rather than try to tie them together. The album does feel themed though, there is a consistency in tone that strikes me whenever I put it on (invariably in the car). Part of that is surely down to how it was recorded, one man on a boombox, which leaves an audible thread running through everything.
Sure, the resulting sound quality is not always great but that takes nothing away from the songs themselves, which shine like diamonds. It feels weird listening to them whilst sat static at a laptop though. I should be behind a wheel, on the road - which would be really fitting because there is a theme of drifting/traveling in these songs too.
I like it from the get-go, the medium and method is more evident in this kind of listen than when I consume this on CD, with my attention on the road. Listening now I find myself drawn more to Darnielle's playing. His guitar (and the drone of the tape deck) is pretty much all there is to accompany his voice and the lines he plays are interesting. I am no great connoisseur of guitar, but I would not rate him highly as a player. His ability to craft a tune though - when to leave things sparse, when to amp up the music - that is another matter. I never realised just how empty or simple some of these tracks were - and I mean that as a compliment. When not paying close attention, there has always sounded like there was more depth to the instrumentation because the tracks are wonderful.
I have to say, I still adore Balance. The hook is catchy as all hell, it is played strongly and the song is short - it burns bright and quick and is easily my favourite track on the album even if others might have more merit as songs or stories set to tunes. Such as The Mess Inside, which gets me every time. I am pretty sure that I cannot say anything about this album that has not been said somewhere before by someone else so this is going to be a really short post whilst I just enjoy all but one of the remaining tracks.
The exception is Blues In Dallas - I really don't like the percussion and keyboard-provided... whatever it is, but mostly the percussion. It is too loud, too insistent and too repetitive; unfortunately it is the longest track on the album. Fortunately it is the only weak spot and is completely overshadowed by the majesty of the other tracks.
The end of the listen is interrupted by a request to move my car so a neighbour can have a skip exchanged and in truth as much as I like the last couple of tracks I don't stop and restart. I know them well from commutes past, and am secure in my knowledge and appreciation of this album. I was a late-comer to TMG, and to All Hail West Texas in particular. I only picked it up, along with a number of other back catalogue releases after someone started a thread on a media forum I frequent about trying to puzzle out the seven people from the songs. I am glad they did, because if that thread had not appeared then I would have a hole in my library where this now sits, firmly in the pantheon of my favourite albums.
Edit: I also acquired the remastered version of this album. That listen is here.
Sure, the resulting sound quality is not always great but that takes nothing away from the songs themselves, which shine like diamonds. It feels weird listening to them whilst sat static at a laptop though. I should be behind a wheel, on the road - which would be really fitting because there is a theme of drifting/traveling in these songs too.
I like it from the get-go, the medium and method is more evident in this kind of listen than when I consume this on CD, with my attention on the road. Listening now I find myself drawn more to Darnielle's playing. His guitar (and the drone of the tape deck) is pretty much all there is to accompany his voice and the lines he plays are interesting. I am no great connoisseur of guitar, but I would not rate him highly as a player. His ability to craft a tune though - when to leave things sparse, when to amp up the music - that is another matter. I never realised just how empty or simple some of these tracks were - and I mean that as a compliment. When not paying close attention, there has always sounded like there was more depth to the instrumentation because the tracks are wonderful.
I have to say, I still adore Balance. The hook is catchy as all hell, it is played strongly and the song is short - it burns bright and quick and is easily my favourite track on the album even if others might have more merit as songs or stories set to tunes. Such as The Mess Inside, which gets me every time. I am pretty sure that I cannot say anything about this album that has not been said somewhere before by someone else so this is going to be a really short post whilst I just enjoy all but one of the remaining tracks.
The exception is Blues In Dallas - I really don't like the percussion and keyboard-provided... whatever it is, but mostly the percussion. It is too loud, too insistent and too repetitive; unfortunately it is the longest track on the album. Fortunately it is the only weak spot and is completely overshadowed by the majesty of the other tracks.
The end of the listen is interrupted by a request to move my car so a neighbour can have a skip exchanged and in truth as much as I like the last couple of tracks I don't stop and restart. I know them well from commutes past, and am secure in my knowledge and appreciation of this album. I was a late-comer to TMG, and to All Hail West Texas in particular. I only picked it up, along with a number of other back catalogue releases after someone started a thread on a media forum I frequent about trying to puzzle out the seven people from the songs. I am glad they did, because if that thread had not appeared then I would have a hole in my library where this now sits, firmly in the pantheon of my favourite albums.
Edit: I also acquired the remastered version of this album. That listen is here.
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