John Darnielle and Rachel Ware really sell the feeling of “Some Swedish Trees.”

Track: “Some Swedish Trees”
Album: Sweden (1995)

It’s sometimes strange to listen to the Sweden era of the Mountain Goats these days. The energy is the same, but it was a totally different band when it was just John Darnielle and Rachel Ware. “Some Swedish Trees” opens with a false start and John asking Rachel if she didn’t want to start that way and Rachel saying they never start that way. There are a few songs with these asides left on the recording and they add some character. The Mountain Goats aren’t “better” or “worse” these days, but they are undeniably more polished. You don’t get these little jokes now.

Rachel’s distinctive bass makes this song go, though you still might hear it today as part of the solo set, as John Darnielle played it at this Chicago show in 2018. The vocals are strong, with the extended vowels on lines like “if you were gazing westward” that only John Darnielle can sell. The studio version really shows off Rachel and John’s harmony, though, and I think it’s the quintessential version even with the intentional goof up top.

You could dismiss it as just another song where two people from California see each other and comment on some other things briefly. It definitely is that, but it’s sung with more passion than the others in this category. It’s brief, but I keep revisiting it just to hear the swells, similar to what makes “There Will Always Be an Ireland” special. There doesn’t need to be a lot going on beneath the surface because what does happen is so intense.