Transcendental Youth
| Transcendental Youth | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by the Mountain Goats | ||||
| Released | October 2, 2012 | |||
| Recorded | 2012 | |||
| Genre | Indie rock | |||
| Label | Merge Records | |||
| Producer | Brandon Eggleston | |||
| the Mountain Goats chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 81/100[1] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [2] |
| The A.V. Club | B+[3] |
| Consequence of Sound | [4] |
| Drowned in Sound | 8/10[5] |
| Pitchfork Media | 7.8/10[6] |
| PopMatters | 8/10[7] |
| Prefix Magazine | 8/10[8] |
| Robert Christgau | A[9] |
| Spin | 8/10[10] |
| Sputnikmusic | 4.5/5[11] |
Transcendental Youth is the 14th studio album by the Mountain Goats. The album focuses on outcasts, recluses, the mentally ill, and others struggling in ordinary society.[12][13] The album is loosely unified around a group of people living in Washington state.[12] At least one character is confirmed to be recurring from All Hail West Texas, an earlier album.[12]
Several songs were performed in concert with a capella quartet Anonymous 4 and featured arrangements by long-time friend Owen Pallett.[14][15] However, Anonymous 4 and Owen Pallett do not appear on the official studio album. This is the first Mountain Goats album to prominently feature a horn section, contributed and arranged by fellow musician Matthew E. White, who opened for the band on their 2012 tour.[16]
The first 1,000 preorders of the album came with a bonus 7",[17] containing demos for the songs "Steal Smoked Fish" on Side A, and "In the Shadow of the Western Hills," which was originally written for the album, on Side B.
Track list
First reported by John Darnielle on July 9, 2012, the track list is:[18]
- "Amy AKA Spent Gladiator 1" - 02:27
- "Lakeside View Apartments Suite" - 03:58
- "Cry for Judas" - 03:13
- "Harlem Roulette" - 03:23
- "White Cedar" - 03:05
- "Until I Am Whole" - 02:49
- "Night Light" - 03:59
- "The Diaz Brothers" - 02:46
- "Counterfeit Florida Plates" - 02:23
- "In Memory of Satan" - 04:01
- "Spent Gladiator 2" - 02:52
- "Transcendental Youth" - 04:10
Personnel
- John Darnielle - vocals, guitar, piano, lyrics, composition
- Peter Hughes - bass, backing vocals
- Jon Wurster - drums, percussion
- Matthew E. White - horn arrangements
- Bob Miller - trumpet
- Bryan Hooten -trombone
- Reggie Chapman - bass trombone
- John Licley - tenor saxophone, clarinet
- Jason Scott - tenor saxophone, clarinet, flute
- Phil Cook - piano on "The Diaz Brothers"
- Production
- Scott Solter - mixing, "electronics and atmosphere"
- Brent Lambert - mastering, vocals on the song "Transcendental Youth"
References
- ↑ "Transcendental Youth Review". Metacritic. Retrieved 2012-10-06.
- ↑ Thomas, Fred. "Transcendental Youth". Allmusic. Retrieved 2012-10-06.
- ↑ Wild, Matt (October 2, 2012). "The Mountain Goats: Transcendental Youth". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
- ↑ Ritt, Megan (2012-10-04). "Album Review: The Mountain Goats – Transcendental Youth". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 2012-10-06.
- ↑ Tudor, Alexander (2012-10-03). "Album review". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved 2012-10-06.
- ↑ Zoladz, Lindsay (2012-10-02). "Review". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2012-10-06.
- ↑ Heaton, Dave (October 4, 2012). "The Mountain Goats: Transcendental Youth". PopMatters. Retrieved 2012-10-06.
- ↑ Fiander, Matthew (2012-10-01). "Album review". prefixmag.com. Retrieved 2012-10-06.
- ↑ Christgau, Robert (2012-11-06). "Review". Expert Witness. Retrieved 2013-01-01.
- ↑ Harris, Keith (2012-10-04). "Album Review". Spin (magazine). Retrieved 2012-10-06.
- ↑ Freeman, Channing (Oct 20, 2012). "Album Review - The Mountain Goats: Transcendental Your". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Swiatecki, Chad. Mountain Goats' John Darnielle Discusses the 'Satan Record'. Rolling Stone, January 20, 2012.
- ↑ Darnielle, John, performing in concert as The Mountain Goats with Anonymous 4. Kaufman Center Ecstatic Music Fest, New York City, March 24, 2012.
- ↑ Hudson, Alex. John Darnielle to Unveil New Mountain Goats Project with Some Help from Owen Pallett. Exclaim.ca, November 16, 2011.
- ↑ Darnielle, John (2011-11-27). "Twitter post". Twitter.com. Retrieved 2013-05-23.
- ↑ Hilleary, Mike (2012-07-31). "The Mountain Goats Announce Tour". Under the Radar. Retrieved 2013-05-23.
- ↑ Darnielle, John (2012-07-25), "Cry for Judas". Retrieved 2013-07-28.
- ↑ "Just Under 1,000 Words About Our New Album". The Mountain Goats. 2012-07-09. Retrieved 2013-05-23.