# The Sunset Tree > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/The_Sunset_Tree > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/The_Sunset_Tree.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sunset_Tree > Source revision: 1323876435 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) ***The Sunset Tree*** is the ninth studio album by [the Mountain Goats](/source/The_Mountain_Goats), released on April 26, 2005 by [4AD](/source/4AD). The album's songs revolve around the house [John Darnielle](/source/John_Darnielle) grew up in and the people who lived there, including his mother, sister, stepfather, friends, and enemies.[1] *The Sunset Tree* received notable acclaim from critics, and was instrumental in introducing the Mountain Goats to a wider, mainstream audience. A prominent review of *The Sunset Tree* in *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)* called the album 'extraordinary',[2] and *[The New Yorker](/source/The_New_Yorker)'*s rock critic, [Sasha Frere-Jones](/source/Sasha_Frere-Jones), pronounced Darnielle as 'America's best non-hip-hop lyricist' in an essay in May 2005.[3] In October 2025, more than twenty years after the album's release, *[Paste](/source/Paste_(magazine))* named *The Sunset Tree* the 50th greatest album of the 21st Century, in their list of 'The 250 Greatest Albums of the 21st Century So Far'.[4] ## Background and themes Whereas the Mountain Goats' previous album *[We Shall All Be Healed](/source/We_Shall_All_Be_Healed)* explored Darnielle's late teenage and early young adult years involved with other [methamphetamine](/source/Methamphetamine) users,[5] on *The Sunset Tree* Darnielle looks further back to focus on his childhood and high school years, and [domestic violence](/source/Domestic_violence) emerges as a central recurring theme.[6] The album title refers to a scene in [Samuel Butler](/source/Samuel_Butler_(novelist))'s *[The Way of All Flesh](/source/The_Way_of_All_Flesh)*[7] in which the character Theobald beats his son Ernest for being unable to pronounce a hard C when singing a hymn. The hymn, "The Tyrolese Evening Hymn", begins with the lines "Come, come, come, Come to the sunset tree."[8] In the album's liner notes, Darnielle writes: - "Made possible by my stepfather, Mike Noonan (1940–2004): may the peace which eluded you in life be yours now - Dedicated to any young men and women anywhere who live with people who abuse them, with the following good news: - *you are going to make it out of there alive* - *you will live to tell your story* - *never lose hope*"[9] Many lyrics reference Darnielle's abusive childhood, especially in the songs "This Year", "Dance Music", and "Hast Thou Considered the Tetrapod". While the album's subject matter is often somber, dealing with Darnielle's longing for escape and feelings of powerlessness, many songs feature upbeat tempos and energetic arrangements that contrast with their lyrical content. The album also explores related themes of adolescent romance, substance abuse, and the coping mechanisms of youth navigating traumatic circumstances. The emotional arc builds toward the song "Lion's Teeth", which Darnielle has described as a "revenge fantasy" in an introduction to a live performance of the song.[10] The album concludes with the two final songs "Love Love Love", in which Darnielle notes the virtue and folly of doing things for reasons of love, and "Pale Green Things", in which he recalls a time his stepfather took him out to watch horses at a racetrack. Darnielle closes the song and the album with a lyric about his sister calling him to inform him of his stepfather's death. ## Reception *The Sunset Tree* has a metascore of 83 on [Metacritic](/source/Metacritic) based on 28 reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim".[11] *[Pitchfork](/source/Pitchfork_(website))* placed *The Sunset Tree* at number 102 on their list of top 200 albums of the 2000s.[12] In 2010, the [Art of Time Ensemble](/source/Art_of_Time_Ensemble), featuring former [Barenaked Ladies](/source/Barenaked_Ladies) singer [Steven Page](/source/Steven_Page), covered "Lion's Teeth" for their album *[A Singer Must Die](/source/A_Singer_Must_Die)*. ## Personnel - [John Darnielle](/source/John_Darnielle) – [vocals](/source/Vocals), [guitar](/source/Guitar) - [Peter Hughes](/source/Peter_Hughes_(musician)) – [bass](/source/Bass_guitar), [backing vocals](/source/Backing_vocalist) - [Erik Friedlander](/source/Erik_Friedlander) – [cello](/source/Cello) - Alex Decarville – [drums](/source/Drums) - [Franklin Bruno](/source/Franklin_Bruno) – [piano](/source/Piano) - [John Vanderslice](/source/John_Vanderslice) – [production](/source/Record_producer) - [Scott Solter](/source/Scott_Solter) – [engineering](/source/Audio_engineering) - Aaron Prellwitz – [engineering](/source/Audio_engineering) - Timin Murray – [engineering](/source/Audio_engineering) ## References 1. ["The Mountain Goats"](http://4ad.com/artists/themountaingoats). [4AD](/source/4AD). Retrieved October 24, 2014. 1. Sanneh, Kelefa (25 April 2005). ["New CD's"](https://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/25/arts/music/new-cds.html?searchResultPosition=86). *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)*. Retrieved 24 November 2025. 1. Frere-Jones, Sasha (9 May 2005). ["The Declaimers"](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2005/05/16/the-declaimers). *[The New Yorker](/source/The_New_Yorker)*. Retrieved 24 November 2025. 1. ["The 250 Greatest Albums of the 21st Century So Far: 50-1"](https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/greatest-albums/the-250-greatest-albums-of-the-21st-century-so-far-part-5). *[Paste](/source/Paste_(magazine))*. 17 October 2025. Retrieved 24 November 2025. 1. ["The Annotated Mountain Goats: We All Shall Be Healed"](http://kylebarbour.org/tmg/wsabh.html). KyleBarbour.org. Retrieved 24 October 2014. 1. Calhoun, Ada (May 10, 2005). ["Private Dancer"](http://www.nerve.com/screeningroom/music/mountaingoats). [Nerve](/source/Nerve_(website)). Retrieved October 24, 2014. 1. Stosuy, Brandon (April 24, 2005). ["The Mountain Goats: The Sunset Tree"](http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/5456-the-sunset-tree/). *[Pitchfork](/source/Pitchfork_(website))*. Retrieved April 5, 2016. 1. ["The Tyrolese Evening Hymn. A Favorite Ballad, Written by MRS. Hemans, Composed and Arranged by Miss Browne. :: Playmakers Repertory Company Playbills"](http://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/ref/collection/sheetmusic/id/27703) 1. ["The Sunset Tree"](http://www.themountaingoats.net/music/sunset.html). TheMountainGoats.net. Retrieved October 24, 2014. 1. ["Mountain Goats Live at Club Capitol on 2007-01-02 (January 2, 2007)"](https://archive.org/details/tmg2007-01-02). [Internet Archive](/source/Internet_Archive). 2 January 2007. Retrieved October 24, 2014. 1. ["Reviews for The Sunset Tree by The Mountain Goats"](http://www.metacritic.com/music/the-sunset-tree/the-mountain-goats). [Metacritic](/source/Metacritic). Retrieved April 5, 2016. 1. *Pitchfork* staff (September 28, 2009). ["The Top 200 Albums of the 2000s: 200–151"](https://web.archive.org/web/20150215202014/http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/7707-the-top-200-albums-of-the-2000s-150-101/5/). *[Pitchfork](/source/Pitchfork_(website))*. Archived from [the original](http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/7707-the-top-200-albums-of-the-2000s-150-101/5/) on February 15, 2015. Retrieved October 1, 2009. ## External links - ["Listening Party"](https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/feature/-/562012/) - interview with John Darnielle about the release of *The Sunset Tree* --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [The Sunset Tree](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sunset_Tree) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sunset_Tree?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.