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The Mountain Goats

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The Mountain Goats

The Mountain Goats are an American indie rock band formed in Claremont, CA by singer-songwriter John Darnielle. In 2005, New Yorker critic Sasha Frere-Jones praised Darnielle as "America's best non-hip hop lyricist."[1] In 2006, Darnielle was included in Paste Magazine's list of the 100 Best Living Songwriters.[2]

For many years, the sole member of The Mountain Goats was Darnielle himself, despite the plural moniker. (During live shows, in what Frere-Jones describes as "a bit of ontological slapstick," Darnielle would walk onstage with his guitar and announce "Hi, we're the Mountain Goats."[1])

Darnielle remains the sole core member of the band, but has worked with a variety of collaborators over the years, including bassist Peter Hughes, drummer Jon Wurster (of Superchunk), singer-songwriter Franklin Bruno, bassist and vocalist Rachel Ware, singer-songwriter/producer John Vanderslice, guitarist Kaki King, and Annie Clark (of St. Vincent).[3][4]

Throughout the '90s, The Mountain Goats were known for producing "militantly lo-fi" home recordings (most famously, on a boom box) and releasing recordings in cassette or vinyl 7" formats.[5] Since 2002, the Mountains Goats have transitioned to a more polished approach, recording studio albums with a full band.[3][5]

The Mountain Goats are currently based in Durham, North Carolina.

History

In 1991, Darnielle began performing under the name The Mountain Goats in Claremont, California, where he attended Pitzer College and worked as a psychiatric nurse.[5] The band's name is a reference to the Screamin' Jay Hawkins song "Yellow Coat".[5] Darnielle released his first album, Taboo VI: The Homecoming, on Shrimper Records.[5] Many of his first recordings and performances featured Darnielle accompanied by members of the all-girl reggae band The Casual Girls, who became known as The Bright Mountain Choir. One of this group's members, Rachel Ware, continued to accompany Darnielle on bass, both live and in studio, until 1995.[4]

The first five years of the Mountain Goats' career saw a prolific output of songs on cassette, vinyl and CD. These releases spanned multiple labels and countries of origin; many were unavailable to the majority of fans until recent reissues.

The focus of the Mountain Goats project was the urgency of writing.[6] Songs not recorded adequately to tape within days of being written were often forgotten.

Darnielle graduated from Pitzer College in 1995. Most of what could be considered classic Mountain Goats conventions (boom-box recording, song series, Latin quotes, and mythological themes) were abandoned in favor of a more thematically focused and experimental sound. This period was marked by Darnielle's collaborations with other artists including Alastair Galbraith and Simon Joyner.

2002 saw the release of two Mountain Goats albums: All Hail West Texas and Tallahassee. These albums mark a distinct change in focus for the Mountain Goats project, being the first in a series of concept albums that explore aspects of The Mountain Goats' canon in depth. All Hail West Texas featured the resurrection of Darnielle's early boom box recording for a complete album. Darnielle considers this album to be the culmination of his lo-fi recording style. Tallahassee, recorded with a band and in a studio, explores the relationship of a couple whose lives were the subject of the song cycle known as the Alpha Series.

Martial Arts Weekend, also released in 2002 under the band name The Extra Glenns, is a collaboration with Franklin Bruno on several previously unreleased Mountain Goats songs.[4] Since that recording, Bruno has joined Darnielle in the studio along with bassist Peter Hughes, who is the second official member of the band and accompanies Darnielle on tour. These three musicians form what may be considered the Mountain Goats studio band.

The Mountain Goats performing at the Northstar Bar on September 22nd, 2007
John Darnielle playing a solo show under the name The Mountain Goats at Harvest of Hope Festival in St. Augustine, FL in 2010

In 2004, the Mountain Goats released We Shall All Be Healed. The album marked a number of changes for the Mountain Goats. It was the first time Darnielle worked with producer John Vanderslice and the first album of directly autobiographical material. We Shall All Be Healed chronicles Darnielle's life with a group of friends and acquaintances addicted to methamphetamine in Portland, Oregon, though the album is set in Pomona, California.

In 2005, the Mountain Goats released their second Vanderslice-produced album, The Sunset Tree. Again autobiographical, Darnielle tackles the subject of his early childhood spent with an abusive stepfather. Darnielle had previously dealt with this subject in what he often refers to as the only autobiographical song he had written before 2004, the unreleased song "You're in Maya."

In 2006, the Mountain Goats relocated to Durham, North Carolina and issued Get Lonely, which was produced by Scott Solter, who had worked with Vanderslice on engineering for prior Mountain Goats records. In 2007, Jon Wurster played drums on the last leg of the Get Lonely tour.

In 2007, the band recorded tracks for its next album at Prairie Sun studios.[7] Entitled Heretic Pride, the album was released on February 19, 2008.[8] It was produced by John Vanderslice and Scott Solter. Franklin Bruno and Erik Friedlander returned to the studio with Darnielle and Hughes, and they were also joined by Superchunk drummer Jon Wurster (who appeared during portions of the Get Lonely tour in 2007) and vocalist Annie Clark of St. Vincent.[8]

On February 3, 2008, The Mountain Goats released a song called "Down to the Ark" that was commissioned by Weekend America.[9]

On March 19, 2008, Darnielle posted on the band's website that their Australian tour would be canceled due to "personal health reasons".[10]

Darnielle is featured on Aesop Rock's song "Coffee" from the 2007 album None Shall Pass. Aesop Rock also released a remix of the track "Lovecraft in Brooklyn" from the album Heretic Pride.

In 2009, Darnielle and Vanderslice released Moon Colony Bloodbath, a concept record about organ harvesting colonies on the moon. The EP was produced in a limited vinyl run of 1000 and sold during their "Gone Primitive" tour.

The Life of the World to Come was officially released on October 6, 2009. It was leaked on September 8, 2009.[11] The third track, "Genesis 3:23", was released as a free download via the band's website on July 28.[12]

On October 6, 2009, The Mountain Goats performed "Psalms 40:2" on The Colbert Report. It was their first television appearance.[citation needed] Darnielle also had a short interview with Colbert in which Colbert professed himself a fan.

On August 5, 2010, the band announced that they had signed to Merge Records,[13][14] home to drummer Jon Wurster's other band, Superchunk. It was also announced that The Extra Lens, formerly The Extra Glenns, will release their new record Undercard via the label in October 2010.[14]

On October 8, 2010, The Mountain Goats performed at the Austin City Limits Music Festival.[15]

On December 8, 2010, The band announced their new album, All Eternals Deck, and that it would be released March 29, 2011.[16]

Members

Former members and collaborators

Discography

Main article: The Mountain Goats discography

In other media

The band's music has been featured in the Showtime television series Weeds. "Cotton" was prominently featured in the season one episode "The Punishment Light", and "International Small Arms Traffic Blues" was featured in the season four episode "Yes I Can."[17]

The songs "No Children", "Old College Try", and "Love Love Love" were each featured in separate episodes of the television series Moral Orel's third season, which has featured major running themes of alcoholism, regret, and domestic discontent.

The band made their television debut on October 6, 2009, playing "Psalms 40:2" on The Colbert Report. On January 19, 2010, they played "Genesis 3:23" on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.[18] On February 23rd, 2011, they played "Birth of Serpents" in support of their album, All Eternals Deck, on The Late Show with David Letterman.

References

  1. ^ a b http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/05/16/050516crmu_music
  2. ^ http://www.pastemagazine.com/action/article/3009/feature/music/pastes_100_best_living_songwriters_8190
  3. ^ a b http://4ad.com/themountaingoats/profile/
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i "the Mountain Goats FAQ". themountaingoats.net. themountaingoats.net. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
  5. ^ a b c d e Nickey, Jason (2008). "The Mountain Goats: Biography". Allmusic. Macrovision Corporation. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
  6. ^ Brown, "Sermon on the Mount", June 1999.
  7. ^ Mountain Goats Hatch Studio Plans - Aversion.com
  8. ^ a b The Mountain Goats | News Archive | High Heresy
  9. ^ Weekend America: The Mountain Goats do Super Tuesday
  10. ^ Australian Tour Canceled
  11. ^ "John Darnielle Tells the Story Behind the Mountain Goats' Biblical New LP". Pitchfork Media. September 8, 2009. Retrieved October 7, 2009.
  12. ^ "The Mountain Goats News Archive - The Good News". mountain-goats.com.
  13. ^ John Darnielle's Mountain Goats and Extra Lens Sign to Merge Records, Pitchfork, August 5, 2010 [1]
  14. ^ a b All Lanes Merge Immediately, www.mountain-goats.com
  15. ^ http://2010.aclfestival.com/events/2010/10/10/
  16. ^ Mountain Goats All Eternals Deck Details, Stereogum, December 9, 2010
  17. ^ "Weeds Music". Showtime. Retrieved October 7, 2009.
  18. ^ http://www.gloriousnoise.com/videos/2010/mountain_goats_on_jimmy_fallon.php

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Mountain Goats.
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