The University News

Issue date: 3/10/08 Section: Culture

Media Credit: Marle Van S. John Darnielle and Peter Hughes of The Mountain Goats.

I hate it when the term "literate" is applied to a rock band, as if the only letters most bands can read are A through G. However, The Mountain Goats happen to be one of the least illiterate, most prolific rock bands of the past couple decades. By the count of allmusic.com, "Heretic Pride," released Feb. 19 on 4AD, is the 15th Mountain Goats album since 1995.

The early recordings of John Darnielle, the original Mountain Goat, are the epitome of lo-fi. Manic acoustic guitar strumming propels Darnielle's shrill vocals, recorded directly into a boombox. The haphazard production gave the songs a disposable quality, which was okay because there were so many of them.

"Don't write hundreds of songs. Write two," I heard Darnielle remark at a concert a few years ago - he'd forgotten the lyrics to "Your Belgian Things," one of his older songs. Luckily, the devoted hipsters in the crowd yelled out the correct lyrics.

The Mountain Goats have evolved over the past decade, adding a permanent bassist and frequent drums, strings and electric guitars. "Heretic Pride" still features acoustic guitar-driven songwriting, but the production is crisp, percussion is ample and female vocal harmonies are audible.

Recent Mountain Goats releases have thrived on a central theme. "Tallahassee," released in 2002, told the story of an unhappy Southern couple who drank themselves to death. "The Sunset Tree," released in 2005, was a gripping autobiographical account of Darnielle's youth - spent at the fists of an abusive stepfather. This album brought The Mountain Goats unusual mainstream success - my mom heard about them on NPR. Finally, 2006's "Get Lonely" was a collection of somber songs about the psychological effects of a break-up.

No central theme unites "Heretic Pride." Instead, there are 13 well-crafted tracks about everything from a Chinese lake monster ("Tianchi Lake") to the murder of a Jamaican reggae singer ("Sept 15, 1983"). "And the house still smells like onions/When the ambulance arrives." The details are what make Darnielle's stories compelling.

This album is at its best when Darnielle is at his most aggressive. The title track is from the joyous viewpoint of some unnamed martyr, who is being dragged through streets and thrown into a trench.

Continued...

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