The Life of the World to Come, the 17th studio album by the Durham, North Carolina-based Mountain Goats, contains the same strikingly poignant lyrics frontman John Darnielle has offered in previous works and continues along his path of phenomenal music.
What might catch a lot of Mountain Goats listeners off guard are the track titles on The Life of the World to Come: They're all references to the Bible. Literally, the album's songs bear names like ""Genesis 30:3"" and ""Deuteronomy 2:10."" To those who are unfamiliar with the Bible, these harbingers of sacred heaviness could easily make one apprehensive about the new release. But have no fear. The Mountain Goats have not decided to become a Christian rock band—thank God. So what's with the titles?
In an interview with PasteMagazine, Darnielle explained his curious song titles by saying, ""I guess the obvious question is going to be ‘John, have you had some sort of religious awakening?' and while I guess lots of people might want to be coy about answering that, that's never really my style, so no."" Instead, he goes on to explain, the songs contain 12 lessons learned from the Bible.
With the fear of a second Relient K out of mind, it's discovered that the music on The Life of the World to Come is not heavy with allusions to religion but rather filled with messages and lyrics as intense as those found in a holy book.
""Matthew 25:21"" is one of the most moving songs on the record and one of the best examples of what Darnielle was trying to achieve with his new spiritual motif. His abrupt voice laments over a dying person, mentioning useless attempts to brace himself for the coming blow and the spiral of grief that will ensue once the blow finally clobbers him. Painting the portrait of a family standing at the deathbed, he sings, ""We all stood there around you / Happy to hear you speak / The last of something bright burning, still burning / Beyond the cancer and the chemotherapy / You were a presence full of light upon this earth / And I am a witness to your life and to its worth.""
To many people, these all-too-familiar lyrics, while beautifully depressing, do not seem to have any obvious undertone of religion. If one refers to the passage from which this song gets its name, he'll find ""His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'"" One could suppose there are many interpretations Darnielle could have taken from this verse to his version of ""Matthew 25:21."" Perhaps this is true, and perhaps that's the point.
Few people can deem themselves masters of theology, but that doesn't mean only those few can appreciate The Life of the World to Come. The songs Darnielle has written have left room for listeners to create their own meaning within the lyrics. Whether or not the listener can draw a straight line between the liturgy and the track doesn't really matter. The song in itself has a strong message; it just so happens that the songs' author got his inspiration from a religious text.
Is it surprising Darnielle was able to transform the contents of a book that generates so much conflict into simply beautiful music with a passionate message? No, not really. If they can be counted on for anything, the Mountain Goats can be counted on for great lyrical composition. The Life of the World to Come doesn't require its listener to be someone familiar with religion, a follower of Christianity or even a person whose only religious experience boils down to CCD classes. Although it might sound fairly cheesy, the Mountain Goats' album is able to transcend religion and get straight to the message, whatever one believes that message to be. The Life of the World to Come is simple, magnificent music with an immense amount of depth.
