The Life of the World to Come (album)

For the science fiction novel by Kage Baker, see The Life of the World to Come.

The Life of the World to Come
Studio album by the Mountain Goats
Released	October 6, 2009
Recorded	April–June 2009
Genre	Folk rock, indie rock
Length	43:08
Label	4AD
Producer	Brandon 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. 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.

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 some that do not, and stylistically resembles both the band's pre-2002 albums and the 2005 The Sunset Tree LP.

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	78/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Robert Christgau	(A-)
Drowned In Sound	(8/10)
Pitchfork Media	(8.4/10)
PopMatters
Slant Magazine

The album was positively reviewed by critics, gaining 78/100 points on Metacritic. 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".

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

Track listing

The Life of the World to Come

No.	Title	Length
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.	Title	Length
13.	"Enoch 18:14"

Amazon bonus track

No.	Title	Length
13.	"Proverbs 6:27"

The Life of the World in Flux - Rough Trade bonus disc

No.	Title	Length
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.	Title	Length
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

• John Darnielle - acoustic guitar, vocals, piano, keyboards
• Owen Pallett - strings, arrangement
• Peter Hughes - bass, electric guitar
• Jon Wurster - drums, percussion
• Vaughan Oliver - art direction, design
• Phoebe Richardson - artwork
• Brian Whitehead - assistant design
• Scott Solter - mixing
• Marc Atkins - photography
• Brandon Eggleston - production, engineering (Chicago)
• Grégoire Yeche - assistant production, assistant engineering (Chicago)
• John Congleton - production, engineering (Tornillo)
• Charles Godfrey - assistant production, assistant engineering (Tornillo)
• Scott Solter - production, engineering (Monroe)