The Life Of The World To Come
by The Mountain Goats
  • Record Label: 4AD
  • Release Date: Oct 6, 2009
User Score
8.1

Universal acclaim- based on 14 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 14
  3. Negative: 2 out of 14

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  1. redredrose
    Oct 24, 2017
    10
    One of my favorite albums of all time. The nuanced emotion John can convey without the context or space of mote than a few minutes of time is staggering. The biblical references work to build his stories even for people like me who have a complicated relationship with religion.
  2. db0928
    Oct 15, 2010
    9
    A beautifully literate work that combines the intimacy of Darnielle's trilogy of autobiographic records with his masterful storytelling abilities that are so integral to the Mountain Goats. At the same time, this is easily The Mountain Goats' most musically beautiful album (by mountain goats standards, of course), in spite of the fact that the melodies and rhythms on display here are byA beautifully literate work that combines the intimacy of Darnielle's trilogy of autobiographic records with his masterful storytelling abilities that are so integral to the Mountain Goats. At the same time, this is easily The Mountain Goats' most musically beautiful album (by mountain goats standards, of course), in spite of the fact that the melodies and rhythms on display here are by and large amongst Darnielle's simplest and most minimalistic. All in all, this was easily among the best albums of 2009, and a fascinating and moving new direction for this consistently fantastic band
    (Standout tracks: "Psalms 40:2", "Genesis 3:23", "Hebrews 11:40", "Genesis 30:3", "Ezekiel 7 and The Permanent Efficacy of Grace")    … Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 18 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 18
  3. Negative: 0 out of 18
  1. MSN Consumer Guide (Robert Christgau)
    91
    This is literary rock as it should be.
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  2. AllMusic
    70
    He's still writing finely observed vignettes that manage to intersect life as we live it with life as we wish we could live it, and as such, he has more in common with a short story writer than he does with the typical singer/songwriter.
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  3. Dusted Magazine
    70
    It's cool that he's trying to change things up, but there's no substitute for a strong result.
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