{"id":6172,"date":"2017-05-24T08:50:59","date_gmt":"2017-05-24T16:50:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wou.edu\/westernjournal\/?p=6172"},"modified":"2017-05-24T08:50:59","modified_gmt":"2017-05-24T16:50:59","slug":"review-goths","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/review-goths\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: \u201cGoths\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
By: Ashton Newton\r\nEntertainment Editor<\/pre>\n
The Mountain Goats\u2019 16th album, \u201cGoths\u201d opens with the pre-released song \u201cRain in Soho,\u201d a serious, dark tune that sets the album up with engaging lyrics and a catchy melody.<\/p>\n
Lyrical storytelling is the highlight of \u201cGoths,\u201d almost every song is very lyric-heavy and strays away from the normal conventions of songs, through means such as blurring the lines between verses and choruses. \u201cThe Grey King and the Silver Flame Attunement\u201d stood out in this respect. The story-heavy verses are matched by the simple chorus that says \u201cI\u2019m hardcore, but I\u2019m not that hardcore.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGoths\u201d also uses lots of experimental instruments that aren\u2019t typically heard in the indie folk genre. The album doesn\u2019t use guitar like The Mountain Goats have in the past, instead, the album is mainly held up by drums, piano and bass. This choice sets \u201cGoths\u201d apart from previous albums and makes for a fresh sound. Horn instruments are also present in songs like \u201cPaid in Cocaine\u201d and \u201cFor the Portuguese Goth Metal Bands.\u201d This gives these songs a classical feel and works well.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the Portuguese Goth Metal Bands\u201d is one of the best tracks on the album. Not only does it have a unique sound with horn instruments and a mellow tone, it puts most of its focus on the verses. The song has a two-line hook in between the longer verses, rather than a chorus. This puts a lot of emphasis on the storytelling aspect of the song and makes for one of the most memorable songs on the album.<\/p>\n
\u201cGoths\u201d is a unique and well done album, but there are a few songs that fail to be memorable. \u201cUnicorn Tolerance\u201d caught my eye because of the title, but the song, itself, fell flat. The song sounds like a generic attempt at an indie tune and zooms by without anything specific really standing out.<\/p>\n
The album begins and ends strongly, but the middle holds some of the weaker songs. \u201cStench of the Unburied\u201d also doesn\u2019t match up well to the quality of the album.<\/p>\n
\u201cGoths\u201d isn\u2019t the best Mountain Goats album, but after 16 albums, that\u2019s a lot to ask for. \u201cGoths\u201d gets a lot right in it\u2019s lyrical storytelling and use of experimental instruments, but a few weaker, generic sounding songs keep it from being truly amazing.<\/p>\n
Contact the author at journalentertainment@wou.edu<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By: Ashton Newton Entertainment Editor The Mountain Goats\u2019 16th album, \u201cGoths\u201d opens with the pre-released song \u201cRain in Soho,\u201d a serious, dark tune that sets the album up with engaging lyrics and a catchy melody. Lyrical storytelling is the highlight of \u201cGoths,\u201d almost every song is very lyric-heavy and strays away from the normal conventions […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":937,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-entertainment"],"modified_by":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6172","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/937"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6172"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6172\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}