All Hail West Texas [Reissued]
by The Mountain Goats
  • Record Label: Merge
  • Release Date: Jul 23, 2013
User Score
8.2

Universal acclaim- based on 10 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 10
  3. Negative: 2 out of 10
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  1. Jimbers
    May 21, 2019
    10
    After the past two albums and three eps had pushed the Mountain Goats' lofi production to new hights, All Hail West Texas strips everything down to become the only LP in the catalogue to have every song recorded on the Panasonic RX-FT 500 he had been working with since the beginning. It's also the only one with no indication of collaboration with other musicians. This is John Darnielle atAfter the past two albums and three eps had pushed the Mountain Goats' lofi production to new hights, All Hail West Texas strips everything down to become the only LP in the catalogue to have every song recorded on the Panasonic RX-FT 500 he had been working with since the beginning. It's also the only one with no indication of collaboration with other musicians. This is John Darnielle at his most isolated and singularly focused. The result is a truly timeless collection of songs about characters waiting for things to get better any way they can whose atmosphere and feeling may never be recaptured. Every single song can be ranked in the top hundred songs of his catalogue nearly ten times the size.… Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
87

Universal acclaim - based on 9 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 9
  3. Negative: 0 out of 9
  1. Under The Radar
    Aug 28, 2013
    90
    With seven bonus tracks and an 1800-word essay included in physical copies, this is a rare treat. [Aug-Sep 2013, p.132]
  2. Record Collector
    Aug 23, 2013
    60
    This reissue’s seven bonus tracks will excite completists and include Waco, initially slated for inclusion on the album’s 2002 release before being given away online. But, in truth, the original album’s heartfelt, immediate and tape-hissing guitars and cutely executed melodies excite the most.
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  3. The Quietus
    Aug 19, 2013
    80
    The reissue's bonus material, culled from the original cassettes Darnielle recorded to, fails to outshine the album's original tracks, but does offer a few highlights.
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