Getting Into Knives - The Mountain Goats: Review
are a long running California indie rock project of John Darnielle known mostly for their highly conceptual projects like All Hail West Texas and The Sunset Tree in the 2000's as well as Beat The Champ and Goths in the 2010's. Getting Into Knives is the 2nd album from the band this year following Songs For Pierre Chuvin which was released earlier this year when the bands tour was cancelled.
Review By Lavender:
While I've never been a massive John Darnielle stan I do enjoy a lot of The Mountain Goats music. While All Hail West Texas has always been a favorite of mine just a few years ago I rekindled with the band on their great record Goths. Since then I haven't been particularly impressed given that their last record let me down a bit and I didn't have much of anything to say about their record from earlier this year. I enjoyed a couple of the singles leading up to Getting Into Knives that had me excited but ultimately this is only a moderate improvement.
The pair of singles that I enjoyed still hold up here in the tracklist starting with Get Famous. It's a classically kooky Mountain Goats song that uses silliness as a strength alongside a sel0faware edge to make a fun and entertaining track. The real highlight is As Many Candles As Possible a track that I like even more on the record given my growing appreciation for its tangible progression. The song opens as a rather tame indie folk cut but explodes during the second half into a jazz flavored jam that I really enjoy. Corsican Mastiff Stride is the short opening cut and a fun, jangly indie pop tune. While the songwriting is simple and primarily about returning to the hook as many times as possible but it flies by at a breezy two minutes and I enjoy it. Pez Dorado features a 60's psychedelia vibe that I didn't expect to hear but it works. The instrumental is simple but the lyricism is wonderful and John's performance is perfect for the track too.
The record definitely hits a snag in the middle but it picks up for a run of tracks to close off the record pretty well. Wolf Count features the records dreamiest instrumental but I think it fulfills its purpose perfectly. I love how many tiny instrumental flourishes the song brings as it goes on and it is one of the only tracks here that actually warrants it's reserved performance. The next track Harbor Me is an angular ballad that I enjoy quite a bit. The hook is simple but emotional and sounds great alongside the subtle instrumental and the detail oriented lyricism of the verses. And finally the closing track Getting Into Knives isn't perfect but it's probably the best of the 5+ minute tracks on the record. It adds a lot of context to the records title and it's themes and I find the really brief chorus surprisingly catchy after multiple listens.
Speaking of those 5 minute tracks they are an epidemic of one trick pony style songs that go on for too long. Tidal Wave is the first of these and while I like the tracks glitzy instrumental a lot it doesn't evolve at all like I hoped it would and the hook is basically the only memorable refrain in the entire track while also being quite short. Next up is Bell Swamp Connection with an instrumental and narrative heavy lyrical style that is compelling at first. As the song goes on it gets more and more dull to the point where even the climax of the story just doesn't feel that impactful lyrically or instrumentally. The Great Gold Sheep is definitely the most boring of these 5 minute cuts. I'm not even sure this track has one effective piece of it I guess the distant icy keys are cool at a few points but by the end of the song I'm ready to leave it behind.
Picture Of My Dress is a more classic type folk song with mellow instrumentation and a reserved vocal delivery that is much more focused on storytelling. The story he tells is interesting but it is far from the most sonically interesting track I've ever heard. The Last Place I Saw You Alive is a dreary piano ballad that meshes fittingly with it's title. While some of the songwriting can be pretty emotional and often vivid the song is on the sleepier side. Even the tracks climax isn't quite as engaging as I was hoping for. Rat Queen is a polite indie rocker with a chorus that is really trying to hold back on the excitement. For everything this track has to comment on in its lyrics it is just kind of absurd how much of a dull momentum killer the hook is.
The lyricism and storytelling on Getting Into Knives is as sharp as it is on most Mountain Goats records but this time around I'm let down by the sonically dull instrumental palette and songwriting that shoots itself in the foot repeatedly. Despite some great tracks here and there this is another album that feels like such an unnecessarily long crawl to get through with nearly an hour of runtime. I will still be around for whatever John does next but I'm hoping he will embark on another conceptual experiment like so many of the best Mountain Goats records do. 5.5/10
Album Cover Review By Tyler Judson:
I really enjoy this album cover and it's simple flat lay design. The cover is just abstract enough for you to be confused about what it is until it clicks. The colors are great and I love how the purple continues through it as a guiding point. The test doesn't take away from the image and it's well placed. 6.5/10
For more indie folk check out my review of Fleet Foxes Shore here
