Whatever concept inspires John Darnielle is almost incidental to the progress that he has made as a writer and performer. The last record was predicated on the sad tawdry circus of wrestling and this one on Goths. Both continue his development into one of the great contemporary songwriters. The sonic palette continues to expand – you might expect a record about Goth to subculture to in some way ape the genre but Darnielle sidesteps this smartly. There are a few musical Goth references but mostly the songs eschew guitars and synths and rely on the subtle shading of woodwinds. Continue reading “The Mountain Goats “Goths” (Merge, 2017)”
Tag: the Mountain Goats
Listen to the Mountain Goats’ new album, Goths
John Darnielle’s the Mountain Goats release their latest album Goths on May 19th. NPR are streaming it from today and you can listen to it here. For their 16th full-length album, Darnielle takes a conceptual detour. As its title suggests, it’s about growing up goth — about establishing a place for yourself among other outcasts — but it also finds the band shedding guitars and adding a fourth permanent member in multi-instrumentalist Matt Douglas. Continue reading “Listen to the Mountain Goats’ new album, Goths”