I had a revelation on Monday night. You know when you've listened to an album again, liked it, and filed it away later...And then you come back to it randomly, and it blows you away this time.

I had that experience with "The Sunset Tree". I had always liked it, and it was #24 on my 2005 list, but now I think it's one of the best albums of the decade.

I'm unsure whether it is possible for them to have a greater album, but I've only listened to "The Sunset Tree" from their discography, and I'm probably going to check out their other stuff. Any recommendations? Any love for this band, for John Darnielle?

Hey,
It's been awhile since I've posted here, but I'm certainly willing to come out of hiding to dispense some Mountain Goats advice.

While "The Sunset Tree" is certainly a great album, I'd argue that they have MUCH better in their vast catalog. The thing with them is that most of their pre-2002 output is VERY lo-fi, (recorded with only a portable boom-box). However, as I'm sure you've found, the true strength in the Mountain Goats is in John Darnielle's lyrics. In my opinion, the best full-length Goats release is "All Hail West Texas". It is definitely a lo-fi affair, but Darnielle's writing has never been better than on songs like "The Best Ever Death Metal Band From Denton" and "The Mess Inside". If I could recommend only two MG songs those would be the ones. However, other "lo-fi" era classics include "Golden Boy", "The Window Song", and "Going to Georgia".
If you're not getting into the lo-fi sound, check out "Tallahasse". It's another studio Mountain Goats album that I feel is easily the equal of "The Sunset Tree". I doubt you'll be disappointed with anything Darnielle's done.

Hah, weird. I was just having a huge discussion about these guys on another board.

"Tallahassee" is definitely worth checking out. It's not as immediately accessible as "Sunset Tree" but I think it has a few songs that are much stronger than anything on Sunset Tree. I'm currently, uh, obtaining "We Shall All Be Healed" so I'll let people know of my impressions about that later on.

The best part about Mountain Goats is that the guy has so much stuff you'll constantly be looking for new stuff.

The back catalog is interesting at first but wears thin quickly.

I love all the Florida (esp. Tampa/Bay Area) references because they make me shiver. It's eerie to hear such an accurate representation in something that feels so far (in style) from the feel of our area. I love it.

Darnielle's lyrics are fucking incredible. His literal lyrics are incredible, and even his abstract lyrics just "make sense", if you know what I mean. I think this is a talent in itself. Very few bands can pull that off - Radiohead only can sometimes - and Modest Mouse doesn't really experiment with lyrics anymore. I'll definitely check out "Tallahassee" and "Texas"

I think We Shall All Be Healed is his best work, excellent lyrically and musically. Tallahassee and The Sunset Tree follow closely. Another great record is Martial Arts Weekend, a collaboration with Franklin Bruno put out under the name the Extra Glenns.

His latest album, Get Lonely, is probably his best album ever lyrically, but I don't like it musically much at all, so I never listen to it anymore except for the song "Maybe Sprout Wings," which is awesome.

Bumping this thread because I have decided that We Shall All Be Healed is fantastic. I have decreed it.

"No Children" is still a bucketful of laughs, though.