Heretic Pride
by The Mountain Goats
  • Record Label: 4AD
  • Release Date: Feb 19, 2008
Metascore
74

Generally favorable reviews - based on 29 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 29
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 29
  3. Negative: 0 out of 29
  1. Tiny Mix Tapes
    90
    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.
  2. musicOMH.com
    90
    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.
  3. Alternative Press
    90
    One day, Darnielle might make a sub-par Mountain Goats record. Pride certainly isn't it. [Apr 2008, p.152]
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  5. cokemachineglow
    86
    This is not just music that I believe, in the sense that it is credible, but this is music to believe in.
  6. Lost At Sea
    83
    Bolstered by the sound of a full band, with Heretic Pride Darnielle has created one of his best releases yet.
  7. MSN Consumer Guide (Robert Christgau)
    83
    One wonders whether 4AD has thrown his critical followers off with its line about how this one abandons autobiography for "mythical creatures" etc.
  8. Drowned In Sound
    80
    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.
  9. Billboard
    80
    Pretty much all John Darnielle's songs sound the same, but that sameness affords a remarkable consistency.
  10. Pitchfork
    80
    Darnielle's characters are back where they know best.
  11. PopMatters
    80
    Where Heretic Pride succeeds is in variety. We never see the same mania twice, never repeat the same angle.
  12. AllMusic
    80
    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.
  13. Spin
    80
    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]
  14. The Guardian
    80
    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.
  15. Q Magazine
    80
    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]
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  16. Paste Magazine
    80
    Complex and worth repeated listens? Hell yeah.
  17. Sputnikmusic
    80
    Heretic Pride is a stunning, well-rounded piece of music that only The Mountain Goats could pull off.
  18. Prefix Magazine
    80
    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.
  19. Entertainment Weekly
    75
    While the cellos of 'San Bernardino' are sublime, many of Heretic's opaque lyrics are buried under prettified blandness. [29 Feb 2008, p.61]
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  20. Village Voice
    70
    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.

User Reviews

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User Score
8.3

Universal acclaim- based on 19 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 19
  3. Negative: 1 out of 19
  1. SteveO.
    Apr 11, 2008
    8
    Cool voice but it CAN get a little annoying... good songwriters though... its a good album overall.
  2. MichaelE.
    Mar 4, 2008
    10
    This is a fantastic album. I listen to it again and again. It´s interesting what happens when the Mountain Goats do an album that does This is a fantastic album. I listen to it again and again. It´s interesting what happens when the Mountain Goats do an album that does not fit into their "image". A lot of critics can´t respond to it. And, most important: though it´s a kind of fun album, it has a broad emotional palette as well. And deeply touching songs. Breathtaking!… Full Review »
  3. JackB.
    Feb 28, 2008
    9
    break away from the personal and back toward classic outward storytelling.
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