Sweden

About

The early Mountain Goats recordings were mostly made by John Darnielle with just an acoustic guitar and a Panasonic RX-FT500 boombox. That machine's constant whirr ensured the recordings were lo-fi and otherworldly, and most of this album was recorded on it. However, when you don't hear the whirr on "Some Swedish Trees," it's clear that Darnielle is trying new things. Rachel Ware adds bass and vocals to the tune (and several others), and their loose performance captures an unorthodox beauty. While Darnielle sings much about relationships on the brink and other serious emotional issues, he's not without humor. The original album came with Swedish subtitles and a brief essay about "The Swedish Conspiracy." It allegedly started as a concept album about the Scandinavian country, except Darnielle removed most of the tracks regarding Sweden and worked in songs name-checking Queens, Bolivia, and California instead. The cover of Steely Dan's "FM" is littered with tape dropouts, which the super hi-fi Steely Dan would've never allowed.

via Apple Music

The Clerk says

Start your shelf to read the full take →