Tallahassee (album)

Untitled

Tallahassee is an album by The Mountain Goats. It was the band's second new album to be released in 2002, and it marked quite a few changes. First of all, after releasing records (and cassettes) on small record labels such as Shrimper, Ajax, and Emperor Jones, Tallahassee was the first Mountain Goats album to be released on a widely-known independent label, the British alternative rock label 4AD. It was also the first Mountain Goats album to have an official single released, for the song "See America Right."

Most importantly, however, is that this is the first record on which the Mountain Goats is more or less an actual "band." Up to this point, most recordings under the Mountain Goats name have either been solo cassette recordings by leader John Darnielle or higher-quality recordings featuring Rachel Ware on bass. On Tallahassee, Darnielle is joined by two past collaborators, multi-instrumentalists Peter Hughes and Franklin Bruno. It was co-produced, recorded, and mixed by producer Tony Doogan at Tarbox Studios in Cassadaga, New York, assisted by Michael Ivins of The Flaming Lips.

The story

Tallahassee is completely devoted to two of Darnielle's recurring characters, a married couple constantly on the edge of divorce. They are known to fans as "the Alpha Couple" as all previous songs about them have titles beginning with the word "Alpha" (e.g. "Alpha Incipiens," "Alpha Desperation March"). The final song on the album is titled "Alpha Rats Nest" as a nod of sorts to the other songs.

In the songs on this album, the Alpha Couple move into a house on Southwood Plantation Road in Tallahassee, Florida. The house is falling apart, an obvious metaphor for their crumbling marriage. Sick of themselves and each other, they begin drinking themselves to death.

The album's liner notes, presumably written from the husband's point of view, add another dimension to the story, as does the album's promotional website, written by Darnielle and designed by his wife Lalitree.

Reception

The music online magazine Pitchfork Media placed Tallahassee at number 176 on their list of top 200 albums of the 2000s.

Track listing

1. "Tallahassee" – 4:42
2. "First Few Desperate Hours" – 3:03
3. "Southwood Plantation Road" – 2:45
4. "Game Shows Touch Our Lives" – 3:48
5. "The House That Dripped Blood" – 2:53
6. "Idylls of the King" – 3:32
7. "No Children" – 2:46
8. "See America Right" – 1:54
9. "Peacocks" – 3:44
10. "International Small Arms Traffic Blues" – 2:50
11. "Have to Explode" – 3:21
12. "Old College Try" – 2:52
13. "Oceanographer's Choice" – 4:08
14. "Alpha Rats Nest" [bonus track] – 2:10

Personnel

• John Darnielle: guitar, vocal, bells, keys, xylophone, harmonica
• Peter Hughes: bass, guitar, harmony vocal, drums, keys, shaker
• Franklin Bruno: guitar on "See America Right," piano on "Have to Explode" and "No Children"
• Michael Ivins: tambourine on "Southwood Plantation Road"

External links

• Official album website
• Complete liner notes and lyrics
• Tallahassee at MusicBrainz