· jclacking · details
A sparse yet not simple outing for this member of the Dead Milkmen, including some truly folksy stuff like the title track and “Cool Water”, and surprisingly sophisticated original tracks delivered in the same man-and-his-acoustic guitar aesthetic.
No topic is too esoteric for John Darnielle to base an entire Mountain Goats album on, not even the persecution of pagans as a wave of Christianity moved through Europe in the middle ages.
If you dig a big fat sawtooth wave riff standing in the front and nearly hitting you in the face with the mic stand, then Brighton's AK/DK has your number. Turn it up and ready yourself to spasm uncontrollably.
Geordie makes good use of a voice that's as smooth as silk and a delivery that promises the utmost reliability, but it's not making a discernible effort to distract from the wonderful glitchiness and complication that hides in the background.
Another band with a well-earned penchant for ALL-CAPS, overbrimming with adolescent incorrigible behavior sung about from the perspective of adults proving it is indeed corrigible. The music is hyper-pop-punk and the irony levels are high.
lacking.org