The Mountain Goats played an amazing gig at Union Chapel last December to put in a late bid for 'gig of the year' and now they are off to a flyer with an early contender for 'album of the year'.
'Heretic Pride' sees a return to the blood, guts and passion of the early Mountain Goats albums and is a slight move away from the more subdued, albeit beautiful, 'The Sunset Tree' (2005) and 'Get Lonely' (2006). Unusually for recent TMG efforts, there is no main theme as such, although many of the songs appear to focus on monsters, but there is a consistant feeling of impending doom, disaster and of people 'on the edge' in various different ways.
As a statement of intent, opener 'Sax Rohmer #1' is stunning. The most catchy song Darnielle has written since 'No Children', its pulsating rhythm and shout-along chorus take your breath away, while the hook line ("I am coming home to you/ with my own blood in my mouth") demonstrates that Darnielle's characters are not going down without a fight this time round. 'San Bernardino', which follows, is beautiful. With a lush string arrangement and soft vocals, Darnielle tells the story of two lovers who have stayed together against the odds, and the birth of their new son.
It is tempting to continue like this and make this a track by track review because almost every song is a highlight. 'Heretic Pride' and 'In The Craters On The Moon' are similar to 'Sax Rohmer', loud and fast with catchy choruses and characters on the edge. 'Tianchi Lake', the most obviously monster-themed song, is a gorgeous mix of Darnielle's own 'Idylls of the King' and the sadness of 'Puff The Magic Dragon'. 'Autoclave' is an industrial sounding delight with a Smiths-esque lyric ("No-one in her right mind/ could make her home my home/ my heart's an autoclave").
All this and I have yet to mention arguably the album's two highlights. 'Lovecraft In Brooklyn' is a furious, paranoid burst of energy and drama. Darnielle spits out so many words per verse, it is hard to keep up and he ignores usual songwriting rules to come up with gems like "woke up afraid of my own shadow/ like genuinely afraid", all the while drums pound and guitars screech. It is hard to know how music can get more thrilling. Closing track 'Michael Myers Resplendent', which like many lyrics here had me going to Wikipedia, is a wistful, calm finish to the album but with lyrics that reflect on the destruction and danger of the previous songs ("when the house goes up in flames/ nobody emerges triumphantly from it").
I've seen some seriously bad reviews of this album. OK, I'm sure they are better written than mine, because after all I'm not a music journalist, but you think- have these people listened to the record? I will mention NME and Word Magazine for publishing trite reviews compiled mainly, it would seem, from facts from a promo sheet. No attempt to describe the heart or the passion in evidence here, because for me this is a record full of heart.
Honestly, I've been listening to this album so much and its hard to know how he could have made it any better. I guess most people will know by now if they like the sound of John Darnielle's voice and like listening to his songs and I doubt 'Heretic Pride' will change that for many people but he has made a record that is extremely literate, visual and full of passion and guts. Not many people have done that so triumphantly anytime recently.
This is really amazing songwriting.
9.9
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