The religious angle doesn't really do much for The Life of the World to Come, except to make the song titles bafflingly interchangeable. And paying extra close to the lyrics doesn't get you any closer to unraveling the biblical parallels, unless perhaps you're a well-versed thumper or willing to do more research than I.
As for the music itself, the question becomes how well the more expansive production complements the traditional Mountain Goats sound. "Genesis 3:23" is harmless, although potentially a dangerous sign of things to come, while "Psalms 40:2" benefits from a hint of aggression ("Checked into a Red Roof Inn, stayed up for several hours/And then slept like infants in the burning fusillage"). Perhaps predictably, the best numbers are the most lo-key, such as the sparse "Ezekiel 7."
It's worth a listen, if an unmemorable one by Mountain Goats standards.
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