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The Life of the World to Come (album)

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The Life of the World to Come
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 6, 2009
RecordedApril–June 2009
GenreFolk rock, indie rock
Length43:08
Label4AD
ProducerBrandon Eggleston, John Congleton, Scott Solter
The Mountain Goats chronology
Heretic Pride
(2008)
The Life of the World to Come
(2009)
All Eternals Deck
(2011)

The Life of the World to Come is the twelfth studio album by the Mountain Goats, released on October 6, 2009.[1] The third track, "Genesis 3:23", was released as a free download via the band's website on July 28. The album peaked at #110 on the Billboard Top 200 albums on its chart debut.

Continuing in their exploration of religious themes, The Life of the World to Come is composed of twelve tracks, each one inspired by (and titled after) a single verse from the Jewish Tanakh and the Christian New Testament. The album's title comes from a line of the Nicene Creed.[2]

Early copies of the album sold via Rough Trade's physical and online stores featured a bonus CD-R, The Life of the World in Flux. It contains early drafts of most of songs which appears on the main album and four extra songs that do not, and stylistically resembles both the band's pre-2002 albums and the 2005 The Sunset Tree LP.[citation needed]

Reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic78/100[3]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic [4]
Robert Christgau(A-) [5]
Drowned In Sound(8/10) [6]
Pitchfork Media(8.4/10) [7]
PopMatters [8]
Slant Magazine [9]

The album was positively reviewed by critics, gaining 78/100 points on Metacritic.[10] Pitchfork Media listed it as 45th best of the year, adding that album is "a work of deep, profound empathy-- the kind of thing the Bible is supposed to teach us in the first place".[11]

As of October 2009 it has sold 14,000 copies in the United States according to Nielsen SoundScan.[12]

Track listing

[edit]
The Life of the World to Come
No.TitleLength
1."1 Samuel 15:23"4:07
2."Psalms 40:2"3:13
3."Genesis 3:23"3:10
4."Philippians 3:20-21"3:03
5."Hebrews 11:40"2:48
6."Genesis 30:3"3:24
7."Romans 10:9"2:42
8."1 John 4:16"3:09
9."Matthew 25:21"5:47
10."Deuteronomy 2:10"3:21
11."Isaiah 45:23"3:38
12."Ezekiel 7 and the Permanent Efficacy of Grace"4:46
Total length:43:08
iTunes bonus track
No.TitleLength
13."Enoch 18:14" 
Amazon bonus track
No.TitleLength
13."Proverbs 6:27" 
The Life of the World in Flux - Rough Trade bonus disc
No.TitleLength
1."Deuteronomy 2:10" 
2."Daniel 12:8 (third)" 
3."Matthew 25:21" 
4."1John 4:16" 
5."Isaiah 45:23" 
6."Hebrews 11:40" 
7."Psalms 40:2" 
8."Philippians 3:20–21" 
9."Genesis 3:23" 
10."Proverbs 6:27" 
11."Romans 10:9" 
12."Matthew 11:14–19" 
13."Enoch 18:14" 
The Life of the World to Come: A Film by Rian Johnson - limited edition live DVD
No.TitleLength
1."Intro" 
2."Enoch 18:14" 
3."Genesis 30:3" 
4."1John 4:16" 
5."1Samuel 15:23" 
6."Genesis 3:23" 
7."Isaiah 45:23" 
8."Philippians 3:20–21" 
9."Psalms 40:2" 
10."Romans 10:9" 
11."Hebrews 11:40" 
12."Deuteronomy 2:10" 
13."Matthew 25:21" 
14."Ezekiel 7 and the Permanent Efficacy of Grace" 
15."Credits" 

Personnel

[edit]

References

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  1. ^ "The Mountain Goats News Archive - The Good News". mountain-goats.com.
  2. ^ "The Mountain Goats, "The Life of the World to Come" (4AD) Spin Magazine Online". 6 October 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-17.
  3. ^ "The Life Of The World To Come". Metacritic. Retrieved 2016-04-05.
  4. ^ The Life of the World to Come at AllMusic
  5. ^ "CG: The Mountain Goats". Robert Christgau. 1983-09-15. Retrieved 2012-02-28.
  6. ^ Strain, Lauren (2009-10-06). "The Mountain Goats - The Life of the World to Come / Releases / Releases // Drowned In Sound". Drownedinsound.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-14. Retrieved 2012-02-28.
  7. ^ "The Mountain Goats: The Life of the World to Come | Album Reviews". Pitchfork. 2009-10-14. Retrieved 2012-02-28.
  8. ^ Mathers, Ian. "The Mountain Goats: The Life of the World to Come < PopMatters". Popmatters.com. Retrieved 2012-02-28.
  9. ^ "The Mountain Goats: The Life of the World to Come | Music Review". Slant Magazine. 2009-10-05. Retrieved 2012-03-15.
  10. ^ "Metacritic.com > Music > The Mountain Goats - The Life of the World to Come". Metacritic.com].
  11. ^ "Staff Lists > The Top 50 Albums of 2009". Pitchfork.com. Pitchfork Media.
  12. ^ "Pitchfork Top 10 Albums, in US Sales". December 2009.