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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
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Heretic Pride
by The Mountain Goats
The Mountain Goats' latest album was produced by Scott Solter and John Vanderslice.
| LABEL: |
4AD |
| RELEASE DATE: |
19 February 2008 |
| DISCS: |
1 disc |
| GENRE(S): |
Rock |
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
90
Tiny Mix Tapes
It all adds up to The Mountain Goats’ most musically sophisticated endeavor to date. In fact, the music is finally beginning to hold its own with the lyrics.
90
musicOMH.com
Disjointed maybe, obtuse certainly, but listening to this album is continuously rewarding, new images, new storylines, and new moments of disbelief at Darnielle's lyricism on every listen.
90
Alternative Press
One day, Darnielle might make a sub-par Mountain Goats record. Pride certainly isn't it. [Apr 2008, p.152]
86
cokemachineglow
This is not just music that I believe, in the sense that it is credible, but this is music to believe in.
83
Lost At Sea
Bolstered by the sound of a full band, with Heretic Pride Darnielle has created one of his best releases yet.
83
MSN Consumer Guide (Robert Christgau)
One wonders whether 4AD has thrown his critical followers off with its line about how this one abandons autobiography for "mythical creatures" etc.
80
Paste Magazine
Complex and worth repeated listens? Hell yeah.
80
Sputnikmusic
Heretic Pride is a stunning, well-rounded piece of music that only The Mountain Goats could pull off.
80
Prefix Magazine
Heretic Pride lifts those shadows--it's the most optimistic Mountain Goats record yet. It’s uplifting and soulful, genuine and sophisticated--full of tender moments enhanced by remarkably pretty melodies and arrangements.
80
Q Magazine
These succinct, sparse vignettes could double as short stories, Darnielle's evocative imagery giving the likes of 'San Bernardino' a cinematic feel. [Mar 2008, p.108]
80
Billboard
Pretty much all John Darnielle's songs sound the same, but that sameness affords a remarkable consistency.
80
All Music Guide
Darnielle can sometimes be too clever, loading in more than a song can bear, but he keeps that tendency in check for the most part on Heretic Pride, and the result is a wonderfully accessible and varied album that hits all the right buttons at all the right times.
80
Spin
This batch of tunes is still suffused with the confessional vibe that made "The Sunset Tree" and "Get Lonely" unlikely emo-folk touchstones. [Mar 2008, p.98]
80
The Guardian
Anyone who has surmounted that hurdle will be delighted to discover that the album represents business as usual: 13 absorbing songs, sparingly orchestrated to concentrate attention on the lyrics.
80
Pitchfork
Darnielle's characters are back where they know best.
80
PopMatters
Where Heretic Pride succeeds is in variety. We never see the same mania twice, never repeat the same angle.
80
Drowned In Sound
It’s the crafting of timeless, crest-fallen melodies infused with gripping characterisations that elevates Darnielle into the upper-crust of musical virtuosity. And that’s exactly where Heretic Pride leaves him: perched atop the pile of today’s try-hardy singer/songwriters.
75
Entertainment Weekly
While the cellos of 'San Bernardino' are sublime, many of Heretic's opaque lyrics are buried under prettified blandness. [29 Feb 2008, p.61]
70
Village Voice
While he looses some duds ("New Zion," "So Desperate," and "How to Embrace a Swamp Creature" are skippable) and a set of slightly duller lyrics, the conceits of the songs—the central images of good floundering in an evil world, of contented monsters, of the naiveté of the faithful—serve to substantiate the album as a whole more than any one line, verse, or song does.
60
Blender
With drums, strings, pianos, amps and backup singers, this is the biggest sounding record ever for a band that used to consist of one guy on acoustic guitar. [Apr 2008, p.81]
60
New Musical Express
This is business as usual: string-laced Americana that ranks alongside other literate types such as The Shins or Midlake.
60
NOW Magazine
The music often verges on innocuous, but it serves its purpose as a backdrop for Darnielle’s steadily churning imagination.
60
Under The Radar
Darnielle's increasing love of full band arrangements--which aren't memorable--pushes him perilously close to earning the "soft rock' label. [Winter 2008, p.83]
60
Dusted Magazine
As interesting as Heretic Pride already is, it misses an opportunity to pick one direction or the other.
60
Uncut
Darnielle dresses songs of romance, heartache, and travel in elegant leaps of language. [Mar 2008, p.96]
58
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Without the gripping autobiographical elements of recent Mountain Goats releases (or the tape hiss of the band's lo-fi days) to justify them, Darnielle's idiosyncratic, occasionally annoying vocals and elementary folk melodies fall a little flat.
52
Filter
While there's magic in Darnielle's always-blissful eye for detail--takes the kaleidoscopic, blood-red sun on 'San Bernadino'--far too often the album works up a head of steam only to wander into unflattering territory. [Winter 2008, p.95]
50
Slant Magazine
The lack of the sort of overarching theme that powered previous discography standouts 'Tallahassee' and 'The Sunset Tree' through their dull bits means that these moments rob the record of a lot of momentum and goodwill.
40
Mojo
The polished arrangements of Heretic Pride do Darnielle's songwriting no favours. [Mar 2008, p.106]
The average user rating for this album is 8.7 (out of 10) based on 12 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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