I SWEAR I’M NOT ALWAYS GROSS AND BITTER. Sometimes I also listen to music?

The Mountain Goats, All Hail West Texas. It’s kind of amazing how catchy he already is. I get these songs stuck in my head all the time now. Everybody needs to know “The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton” because we’ve all known those guys (…I hope?) and also I’ll say that the one time I really did fly in to DFW they really did pretty much tell me, “Come on in; we haven’t slept for weeks. Drink some of this; it’ll put color in your cheeks.” In general I think patient fans of the Weakerthans would like these guys, but then, if you like the Weakerthans you probably know that already so maybe I should run this recommendation the other way around.

Tallahassee. You know, finding out that John Darnielle is happily married was just like finding out that Philip Roth was a Gentile woman. (…Except for the part where the first thing happened.) “No Children” is one of the best and harshest songs about marriage ever written, and we’ve had a long time to enter that sweepstakes. There are other good songs on this album, which explores the divorce of a fictional couple, but seriously do you need more than one bullet through the heart?

The Sunset Tree: Apparently the only album which is definitely autobiographical, and it’s just as bruised as you might expect. Ranges from the anthemic (“This Year”) through the ambiguous (“Up the Wolves”) to the randomly- (and perhaps unnecessarily; I like this song less than most people, I think) Dostoevskyan (“Love Love Love”).

Next batch of albums in next post, as I am running out of Friday.