The Sword of God (album)

Critical reception

The Sword of God received mixed, but generally positive reviews. Thom Jurek of Allmusic lauded the improved musicianship, writing: "Weiss has become a stomping drummer, a poignant, ironically comedic lyricist, and a smart-assed vocalist, and Coomes has become a smoking guitar player and a proficient if not deft keyboardist."

Critics noted a marked change in sonic direction from their previous efforts, Featuring "Birds" and Field Studies, but had mixed reactions to the changes. Billboard (magazine) positively described the sound as "freewheeling" and "mangier, almost bar-band", while Pitchfork's Mat LeMay felt that "the efforts made by the band to expand their oeuvre on The Sword of God just fall flat." In contrast to those reviews, Keith Phipps of The A.V. Club criticized the lack of change: "Sword of God is fine, but it suffers from following two better albums, which it resembles too closely to avoid comparison."

Track listing

All tracks by Sam Coomes except where noted.

1. "Introduction" – 0:51
2. "Fuck Hollywood" – 4:47
3. "It's Raining" – 3:10
4. "Genetic Science" – 3:21
5. "The Sword of God" – 4:55
6. "A Case of No Way Out" – 4:12
7. "The Curse of Having It All" (Janet Weiss) – 4:53
8. "Seal the Deal" (Coomes, Weiss) – 4:16
9. "From a Hole in the Ground" – 3:15
10. "Little Lord Fontleroy" – 3:34
11. "Goblins & Trolls" – 4:11
12. "Better Luck Next Time" – 3:59
13. "Nothing, Nowhere" – 3:13
14. "Rock & Roll Can Never Die" – 4:18

Personnel