After releasing the underrated All Eternals Deck just last year, the Mountain Goats are back at it. Set to release in early October, Transcendental Youth becomes the next must-have item creeping down the assembly line in the toy factory of my life.Everything I've heard from Darnielle and company has been enjoyable, and I expect this to be no exception.
01 Amy aka Spent Gladiator 1 02 Lakeside View Apartments Suite 03 Cry for Judas 04 Harlem Roulette 05 White Cedar 06 Until I Am Whole 07 Night Light 08 The Diaz Brothers 09 Counterfeit Florida Plates 10 In Memory of Satan 11 Spent Gladiator 2 12 Transcendental Youth
The year's most exciting display of musical exhilaration may very well have been released earlier this summer from the Canadian duo, Japandroids. The perfectly titled Celebration Rock is about a half hours' worth of youthful exuberance and buoyant energy.
Let's be honest--there is no earth shattering originality on display here. And at first, it comes off as slightly more juvenile and bro-friendly than the stuff I usually enjoy. However, there's no denying or resisting the melodic bombast that screams and soars through every last bit of this record when simply taken and enjoyed at face value. Driven by unmistakably catchy bursts and shout-along "whoa-oh-oh" choruses, it doesn't take long before the mood of this album washes over you.
Recorded live with little to no overdubbing, the band effectively captures the atmosphere of the most kinetic concert experiences. It starts and ends with fireworks, of both the literal and figurative variety. Trust me when I tell you it's the best music you'll hear between colorful skyward explosions this week.
It feels like finally finding a Replacement for the Cheap Trick you used to pull on your old Boss. It sounds like an old episode of the three Stooges Clashing with Who knows what in some old house in a Gaslight district. It rocks like the appetite you try to destroy late at night in a futile effort to make yourself Hold Steady.
So find some people who enjoy your company as much as you enjoy theirs, and celebrate this week. Toast to something meaningful, and toast to something frivolous. Splash some bottles together and let the foam soak your fists. Throw this record on among a crowd of friends. Trust me when I say it won't serve as background music for long. Happy Fourth, everyone.
