recorded in hotels, buses, living rooms and small studios in colorado, massachusetts, utah, and north carolina. all levels left intact as chance intended. the mountain goats is a durham, north carolina-based band led by american singer-songwriter john darnielle. darnielle began recording in 1991, and is known for his highly literate lyrics and (until 2002) his lo-fi recording style. 'the life of the world to come' is his new 4ad album and is twelve hard lessons the bible taught him. in order to bring this heavenly-themed release to life, john has brought along - in addition to longtime bassist peter hughes - two new do-gooders in the form of superchunk drummer jon wurster, and arcade fire's string arranger owen pallett.