The Mountain Goats: The Life of the World to Come

Label: 4AD

The Mountain Goats’ sixth album on 4AD finds them in trio formation: John Darnielle and Peter Hughes are here joined by *Superchunk*’s Jon Wurster on drums. It’s the most dynamic “full-band” Mountain Goats record to date: parts are as subtle as 2006’s Get Lonely, while others show off this lineup’s ability to cohesively head into uptempo realms. Lyrically, it’s Darnielle’s most devastating work since The Sunset Tree: The songs take their names from Bible verses, titles that are juxtaposed with brutally moving lyrics that don’t shy away from discussions of mortality. And while the two albums don’t have much in common philosophically, The Life of the World to Come dovetails eerily in places with David Bazan’s recent Curse Your Branches: Each explores the need for, and shortcomings of, faith — and creates some compelling music in the process. (Toby)