The Mountain Goats are, for all practical purposes, the endlessly clever and prolific John Darnielle and whatever musicians he surrounds himself with, which means that while the soundscape may change from project to project, the overall tone and feel of Darnielle's work remains remarkably consistent, an impressive achievement, really, since Heretic Pride is his umpteenth album (and fourth for 4AD), and, as luck would have it, one of his most finely balanced ones at that. Darnielle at his best writes finely observed, slightly surreal, impressionistic vignettes that manage to mix life as we live it with life as we wish we could live it, and as such he has more in common with a short story writer than he does with the typical singer/songwriter. At his worst, he sounds glib, wordy, over wrought and ultimately unbelievable. Thankfully there is little of that kind of sputtering here, and Heretic Pride is almost perfectly structured, leading off with the shuffling "Sax Rohmer, Pt. 1," following it with the lovely, string-drenched "San Bernardino," and then skips off into Mountain Goat land, a world where the normal collides with the extraordinary, often within a line or two. Other highlights here include the beautiful "Tianchi Lake," which uses the simple act of swimming as a metaphor for so much more, and the odd, lysergic "Lovecraft in Brooklyn," which feels like the screenplay for a campy B movie monster flick given musical form, only, of course, it might be something else entirely. Darnielle can sometimes be too clever, loading in more than a song can bear, but he keeps that tendency in check for the most part on Heretic Pride, and the result is a wonderfully accessible and varied album that hits all the right buttons at all the right times.
Mountain Goats, Heretic Pride (4AD) eight out of ten starsI love John Darnielle’s songs. He writes from the heart. So how could I review his new album, Heretic Pride from my head? There will be little deep analysis or calculated critique here. Listening to his songs feels like sitting on a ledge, waiting to cry. His albums don’t always make me cry but they always, at the very least, push me to
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So, last weekend I went to see The Mountain Goats at the Union Chapel (which is an amazing venue and it was an amazing show - all of you who didn't go will probably regret it in years to come).My friend Jo did think it was in poor taste, being that we were in a chapel, for TMG to pull up Eddie Argos for the finale to sing The Best Ever Death Metal Band Out Of Denton (I am sure you can see the h...
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The Mountain Goats have another album coming early next year. The LP is titled Heretic Pride and it will be released February 19th on 4AD. It was produced by John Vanderslice and Scott Solter at Prairie Sun Studio and features artwork from Vaughan Oliver. It also features guest appearances from St. Vincent's Annie Clark, Superchunk's Jon Wurster, Peter Hughes (naturally), old pal Franklin Br...
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I love when bands include Alaska on their tour maps. But, I don't know of any non-Alaskan bands who have ever started their US tour from the arctic state! It's possible that Mountain Goats will be the first to do so. John Darnielle and friends announced a west coast US tour that starts in Anchorage, stops in B.C. and heads south to West Hollywood. The fun starts on February 19th and continu...
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The new Mountain Goats album, Heretic Pride, is due out Feb. 19. The last album, 2006's Get Lonely, was one of the best albums of that year. Here's a track off the new one.
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Mountain Goats, Heretic Pride (4AD) eight out of ten starsI love John Darnielle’s songs. He writes from the heart. So how could I review his new album, Heretic Pride from my head? There will be little deep analysis or calculated critique here. Listening to his songs feels like sitting on a ledge, waiting to cry. His albums don’t always make me cry but they always, at the very least, push me to
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This week brought illness and funerals; 2008's first air thick with loss & so many plans unmade. Bound tight with regret I leave West Texas through high painted deserts, days straight, lanes wide. The way the land empties you. Alpine, El Paso, Tuscon I sleep by the roadside, half-wild in unbreaking darkness. We're making good time, I think and then remember I'm in no hurry to get back to what's...
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Last night I downloaded the new Mountain Goats album, Heretic Pride (yes, I do intend on buying it) and I am so glad that John Darnielle has managed to produce yet another stunning record. I don't want to use the phrase 'their best yet' because I've only listened to it twice through, and because that's a very grand statement, but it is definitely a contender in my opinion.The album comes across...
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So, last weekend I went to see The Mountain Goats at the Union Chapel (which is an amazing venue and it was an amazing show - all of you who didn't go will probably regret it in years to come).My friend Jo did think it was in poor taste, being that we were in a chapel, for TMG to pull up Eddie Argos for the finale to sing The Best Ever Death Metal Band Out Of Denton (I am sure you can see the h...
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Things happen to us, and because of the amount of space between the two of them, Tom Spanbauer would call it propinquity, we can't help but meld them together.What does School Prayer have to do with the Mountain Goats? How can the concept of School Prayer and all of the free speech issues it brings up be linked up, connected, referred to indirectly in the same sentence as John Darnielle of the ...
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So oh em gee my favorite band of all time, the Mountain Goats, are coming out with a new CD that will be called "Heretic Pride" and it will be out on February 19th, 2008!Here is a list of the tracks:1. Sax Rohmer #12. San Bernardino3. Heretic Pride4. Autoclave5. New Zion6. So Desperate7. In the Craters on the Moon8. Lovecraft in Brooklyn9. Tianchi Lake10. How to Embrace a Swamp Creature11. Mard...
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I would just like to take a moment to say that I have recently fallen in love with what I suppose must be described as folk rock. I have mentioned some examples in my previous two posts and you should check them all out, but at this moment in time I would like to draw your attention to a song I heard on the radio on my way home: Autoclave by The Mountain GoatsSimple and beautiful. I love his de...
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Picture by Lilliendahl I will let them explain the new EP deal:Remember when I used to release a lot of EPs? Like, one or two a year, even? And how they weren't album tracks, but self-contained kinda deal actual EPs, as God intended? Perhaps you do not remember, on account of that was a long time ago. It doesn't matter whether you remember or not, really, since I am telling you now, just so w
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 Sax Rohmer, Pt. 1 |
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| 2 San Bernardino |
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| 3 Heretic Pride |
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| 4 Autoclave |
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| 5 New Zion |
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| 6 So Desperate |
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| 7 In the Craters on the Moon |
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| 8 Lovecraft in Brooklyn |
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| 9 Tianchi Lake |
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| 10 How to Embrace a Swamp Creature |
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| 11 Marduk T-Shirt Men's Room Incident |
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| 12 Sept. 15, 1983 |
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| 13 Michael Myers Resplendent |
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Click to purchase…
© 2006-2009 Mog Inc. All Rights Reserved
 "Heretic Pride")
