The Mountain Goats

The fantastic news that The Mountain Goats are coming to the UK in December has inspired me to write something about them, despite the fact that the new album isn't out til next year.

The Mountain Goats is essentially U.S singer-songwriter John Darnielle and assorted friends and colleagues, mainly Peter Hughes and Franklin Bruno. John has been making music under the TMG moniker since 1991 and all albums up to 2002 were recorded in a lo-fi , boombox style which consisted of John strumming an acoustic guitar whilst singing/shouting his lyrics over the top. These early albums make for incredibly intimate recordings but would be largely useless were it not for the fact that John is one of the best lyricists and storytellers I have ever heard.

TMG first came to my attention in early 2003. My friend Jason recommended them to me and I purchased 'Tallahasse' in HMV Oxford Street during a pre-gig (Smog at the Union Chapel) spending session. Playing it the next day I immediately loved it. I knew nothing then of John's lo-fi history, but this was a beautiful album presenting the story of a married couple on the verge of divorce. The songs generally mixed pretty acoustic melodies such as 'Idylls of the King' with blazing, loud expressions of anger such as 'See America Right' and 'Oceanographers Choice'. It made for a heady mix and is still a really exciting listen. It also contains the magnificent 'No Children' which contains fantasic lyrics like

"I hope I cut myself shaving tomorrow
I hope it bleeds all day long
Our friends say it's darkest before the sun rises
We're pretty sure they're all wrong
I hope it stays dark forever
I hope the worst isn't over
And I hope you blink before I do
Yeah I hope I never get sober"

It has to be one of the most sing-a-long-able songs ever! Anyway, 'Tallahasse' got me completely hooked on TMG (9.0).

After spending some time buying as many of the lo-fi albums as I could find and afford, and coming to the conclusion that 'All Hail West Texas' (8.9) was the best, I didn't have too long to wait for the next album as 'We Shall All Be Healed' arrived in early 2004. This was billed as John's first ever autobiographical album and contained songs about his teenage years. The Mountain Goats website declared "All of the songs on We Shall All Be Healed are based on people John used to know. Most of them are probably dead or in jail by now." The main themes of the album were motorcycles and drugs. To my ears it wasn't as amazing as 'Tallahasse' and had a few too many forgetable songs. It had some great songs too though, such as the gorgeous 'Your Belgian Things' but I don't find myself playing this much (8.2).

2005 brought the release of 'The Sunset Tree', another autobiographical album concerning John's youth but this time focussing on domestic violence and John's relationship with his stepfather. This is an absolutely stunning album with both poignant and escapist lyrics. The first five tracks of the record make for an unbelievably enthralling opening and you will be singing 'This Year' ("I am going to make it through this year/ If it kills me") to yourself after a couple of plays. The album ends with news of his stepfather's death on 'Pale Green Things' a beautiful, quiet finale. This is a superb record. Two years after its release I still play it regularly and if you are new to TMG, this is probably the album to start with. (9.8).

Last year saw the release of 'Get Lonely' and I'll post here a review of this album that I wrote at the time...

The Mountain Goats ‘Get Lonely’
4AD

The Mountain Goats, essentially singer-songwriter John Darnielle and assorted friends, built up a solid fan base on the back of their early lo-fi releases recorded directly onto cassette player. The albums featured Darnielle’s nasal, shouty vocals over violently strummed acoustic guitar and showed him to be a wonderful storyteller and lyricist. Since signing to 4AD in 2002 the Goats have discovered recording studios and production and have made a series of polished albums all focussed on a particular theme.

Last year’s ‘The Sunset Tree’ was an extraordinarily powerful album about Darnielle’s childhood experiences with a violent stepfather and was probably his finest work yet. This time he has written a set of songs about the end of a long term relationship and there are marked differences from his previous records.

The shouty vocals have gone, to be replaced by a hushed whisper and quieter, slower singing voice, the music is lush, all acoustic guitars, piano and strings and the songs are some of the saddest you’ve ever heard. The lyrics are incredible studies in loneliness and desolation. Unlike other break-up albums, there is no anger or bitterness, the album simply describes the character’s struggles to get through each day. There are only two breaks in the sombre musical tone, ‘Half Dead’ uses The Smiths’ trick of coupling incredibly painful lyrics with a jaunty melody and could well get radio play, while ‘If You See Light’ is an incredible two minute blast of paranoia where the character hides from neighbours and friends during an attack of panic (“when the villagers come to my door/ I will breathe shallow breaths from high up in my stomach”).

Elsewhere the songs paint a portrait of sadness and loneliness but the album is never depressing. It may take a few listens for the melodies to properly form, but when they do this is a superbly polished album. With acoustic balladry ever more popular, Darnielle may win new fans with this collection of acoustic songs that are a million times more literate than those in the charts at the moment. (9.5)

I've never managed to see John play live, so I'm really looking forward to the London show in December, but if you've never heard of TMG or bought any of their music, I hope this post may inspire you to check them out.