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May 6, 2015This is another great Mountain Goats album. If you are a fan you probably have this already but if not, got get it asap. If you’re unfamiliar, this is as good a place as his masterwork The Sunset Tree to start, as this is like the sequel, but coming from a seemingly lighthearted place with the wrestling theme.
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Apr 7, 2015Throughout Beat the Champ, Darnielle and his band exude confidence and a sense of purpose.
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Apr 7, 2015Beat the Champ, while it ain’t Songs in the Key of Life, keeps up the move toward eclectic instrumental color.
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Aug 5, 2015One of the best Mountain Goats records.
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MojoApr 22, 2015Witty, tender pieces to charm even those for who wrestling means Shirley Crabtree. [May 2015, p.100]
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MagnetApr 15, 2015A set of first-person songs that are ultimately no less earnest or affecting than those on the aforementioned break-up record, albeit more given to colorful insider jargon and particularly inventive physical violence. [No. 119, p.54]
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Apr 13, 2015A fun, but deeply human, record.
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Apr 13, 2015You don't have to care about wrestling to be knocked out by Beat the Champ, but Darnielle makes it clear that these stories mean something real to him, and this is a fascinating portrait not of who wins or loses, but those who play the game.
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Apr 9, 2015As music alone, the band is looser and more flexible than ever, deploying Superchunk’s Jon Wurster for accents and subtleties outside of his main band’s dynamic range, and punching out the gate with highlights as varied as the Louisiana ragtime of “Southwestern Territory” and the punked-up “Choked Out.”
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Apr 8, 2015In looking through this world, the Mountain Goats have made one of their best albums of the last decade, and they’ve done so knowing that while sometimes life is bigger than the squared circle, sometimes that ring is enough.
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Apr 7, 2015Despite the unlikely set-up, there’s a classic archetypical feel to the set as a whole.
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Apr 6, 2015Yet another highlight in a career overflowing with them.
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UncutApr 3, 2015John Darnielle shares Haines' nostalgic affection for the stars of Martial pantomime, and deploys his deadpan indie rock and trademark wordiness to fine effect. [May 2015, p.78]
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Apr 3, 2015Theatrical, impassioned, and occasionally heartbreaking, Beat The Champ distills the very essence of classic Mountain Goats into another compelling album.
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Apr 8, 2015It’s resulted in a record that’s not as universal as Darnielle’s best work, but also not as personal. It’s an artistic success as a literary exercise.
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Apr 7, 2015Even though the album isn’t a total triumph, it’s well stocked with new Mountain Goats classics.
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Apr 3, 2015Beat the Champ is strongest when he follows wrestling’s narratives beyond the ring.
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Apr 21, 2015All in all, this isn't a bad direction to go after fifteen studio albums and countless other releases (600 songs!) into a career, as Darnielle again proves that his excessive specificity as a storyteller doesn't mean he can't tell us something about our own lives.
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Apr 7, 2015The music is fantastically rangy, with discordant strings and jazz piano nuzzling punk-busker guitar.
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Alternative PressApr 3, 2015Beat The Champ takes you on a walloping emotional journey that proves great songwriting can compliment any subject matter. [May 2015, p.98]
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Apr 6, 2015The rest of the record isn’t as brassy as "Foreign Object", an obvious crowd-pleaser, but it’s occasionally as bold.
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Apr 8, 2015Though an album entirely dedicated-at least superficially-to wrestling easily has the potential to alienate listeners uninterested in the sport, under Darnielle's guidance, Beat the Champ is so much more.
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Apr 8, 2015The lyrics are the album's strong suit, and for the first time ever Darnielle will be releasing them with the album, allowing for easy dissection.
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Apr 13, 2015Overall Beat the Champ will no doubt prove a hit with die-hard Mountain Goats fans, however as a standalone album it lacks a coherent sound.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 23 out of 24
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Mixed: 1 out of 24
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Negative: 0 out of 24
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Apr 19, 2015
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Aug 7, 2015
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Jun 13, 2015