This morning I listened to the Mountain Goats' The Sunset Tree. I'd noticed before how the harmonies in "This Year" come in during the line "twin high-maintenance machines," in order to musically portray what's in the lyrics, but this morning I discovered that this feature is also present in "Dance Music." Aside from the choruses, the only part with a harmony vocal is the line "I don't wanna die alone." Like "twin high-maintenance machines" in "This Year," it's an-other instance where the musical qualities add to the lyrics.
In both songs, there are harmony parts in the more anthemic sections ("I am gonna make it through this year if it kills me" and "dance music," for example - the choruses of both songs), but in some verses (moreso in "This Year" than in "Dance Music"), the harmony parts serve to emphasize particular lines, sort of like musical underlining or highlighting.