thought i could make a section of this shrine to help people figure out what mountain goats album to listen to first because there are so many! and it can be very overwhelming! you could also use this flowchart below by @moontaingoat to find YOUR perfect mountain goats album!
This is possibly the mountain goats most popular album! Which is fair i think! perfect introduction to the mountain goats overall sound and Johns writing style! Named after a scene in Samuel Butlers The Way Of All Flesh (which weirdly also gets a mention in Johns side project The Extra Glenns) the album surrounds John Darnielles childhood and being raised by his abusive step father. This album was written and recorded shortly after his step fathers death so it is all very raw and really effectively communicates these complicated feelings of losing someone like that and remembering the time in your life they were most connected with.
again i think this is the perfect intro album to the mountain goats! this is usually the album i recommend to someone looking to get into The Mountain Goats or atleast listen to one album to get me to stop asking them to listen to the mountain goats lol. Solid production without going into the full fancy stuff they've been doing recently, has lots of hits like This Year and Up the wolves and all around feels like a great representaion of their work.
The one with No Children on it! yes all the songs are as emotionally devastating this is why i dont usually recommend it as your first ever mountain goats listen. it has the type of rage sewn into it only the bush era could conjure out of songwriters.
This is a really good intro to more of the lore heavy concept albums the mountain goats do. This album is an emotional car crash so its a lot to listen to but it is a masterpiece and has some of the most insane mountain goats hits. listen to this before you die please
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yeah this one is definitely a litmus test on how much you'll like older mountain goats work. For a lot of people (including me!) the lofi production and it only being acoustic guitar brings a raw and vulnerable feeling that enhances the listening experience and for some people the lack of clean production bothers them! all i can say is this is a great album thats worth a listen
putting unreleased in quotation marks because most of these have either been released and performed by john darnielle or gotten a physical release but just arent out on streaming services
unreleased songs are a big deal in the mountain goats community! especially if you hear one live! Here are some of my favourites right now and some fan staples
i love this video so so much. i feel that you can show anyone this and it'll bring them so so much joy. if you havent seen it go in blind and have the time of your lifeee.
the jordan lakes sessions were recording sessions the mountain goats did during the pandemic! not usually a fan of these sort of live recording albums but the energy from these is CRAAAZY. love how much this captures the energy of the mountain goats concerts, theres so much to gain from listening to these from john darnielles live performance to the chats the band have inbetween tracks. you can listen to all 5 sessions on spotify and some of the video performances are avalible on youtube!
lowkey could be used as a song rec list toooo
Matthew 25:21 - The Life Of The World To Come
Jam Eater Blues
Soft Targets
Riches and Wonders
some of these are just real things John Darnielle has tweeted that i like a lot
