2008 Woodie Awards
A Goat's guide to pride, deception and paranoia
The Mountain Goats, Heretic Pride
Nick Schurk
Issue date: 2/20/08 Section: Music
John Darnielle has a nice little niche going. Since 1995, the singer songwriter has recorded emotionally-refined indie rock and folk tunes at a fevered pace under his Mountain Goats moniker. And although he has shown ample ability to match lyrical subjects perfectly with complementary instrumental arrangements, Darnielle's most interesting works have always been deceptively upbeat to the inattentive listener.
The Mountain Goat's newest offering, Heretic Pride, is simultaneously a milestone in Darnielle's discography and a bit homogenizing. On one hand, the two year period between the album and its predecessor, Get Lonely, marks one of the band's longest between-release down periods (Darnielle is no stranger to releasing up to four records in a single year). It also displays a break in the thematic cohesion that dominated earlier releases, such as The Sunset Tree's alarmingly personal tale of child abuse, the crumbling marriage of the "Alpha couple" on Tallahassee and the scattered entries in the "Going to…" series.
It doesn't seem as though the relatively lengthy amount of time it took to release Heretic Pride was an attempt on Darnielle's part to flesh out these 13 new songs. The band's website announced the album shortly after its completion in late November with a rambling disclaimer stating its release was delayed due to the annual influx of Queen records in December (possibly hinting at the red tape that surrounds the music business, even on a respected indie label). But it's clear immediately that the bulk of the new tracks had more than enough time to stew before their February release.
"San Bernardino" is a surprisingly hopeful entry into the group's overall catalogue, which is filled with stories of unrequited love, drunken stepfathers and general discontent with the world. The song details a young couple bringing their first son into the world in a cheap, California motel room.
"And we will never be alone in this world/ No matter what they say/ We're gonna be ok," Darnielle sings, articulating the father as a stark contrast to the bitter Alpha husband who wishes death upon himself and his spouse in Tallahassee's "No Children." The track's string arrangement, provided by avant-garde cellist Erik Friedlander, sweetly elaborates on the theme of new life and the bond it can create.
The record's title track quickly switches back to a darker focus. "Heretic Pride" is described by the front man as a "persecution fantasy" where the story's narrator is dragged violently to his death while onlookers cheer for his demise. The song's brilliance is in the lunacy of its story telling. Darnielle's protagonist sings happily of his pending martyrdom, smiling and laughing all the way. The upbeat combination of acoustic guitar, piano and standard rock drum patterns lends itself nicely to the conflicting elements of theme and tone.
Darnielle drops one of his most impressive works to date, "Lovecraft in Brooklyn," near the release's halfway point. This tale of personal paranoia, loosely based on the life of horror writer H.P. Lovecraft, is more than just an attempt to gain literary credibility through name dropping. The furious pace of the band's seldom used distorted guitars and periodic interjections of cacophonous violins replicate the fear associated with many characters in Lovecraft's work. The lyrics articulate Lovecraft's fear of the unknown (without his trademark, racist undertones).
"Woke up afraid of my own shadow/ Like, Genuinely afraid/ Headed for the pawnshop/ To buy myself a switchblade" is sung with a vacant, quivering voice, displaying the songwriter's grasp of Lovecraftian models of psychology.
Heretic Pride is not without its faults. At times Darnielle seems unwilling to break out of the comfort zone he has established over the past decade. The album's opener, "Sax Rohmer #1," seems like a rehash of work from the one-man, boom box recordings that comprised early Mountain Goats releases. The song is solid in terms of writing and production, but by the time the chorus of "I am coming home to you/ With my own blood in my mouth" hits, the whole affair feels like Zopilote Machine's "Going to Georgia" with a fresh, new sheen that can be bought with a bigger label's funding.
"So Desperate" sounds as though it was written for the mediocre Get Lonely. Though not as personal as the majority of Lonely, the song certainly provides just as bleak an outlook on love. What really damages this title is the extent to which it is utterly choked with emotion. The lullaby-like plucking of the guitar and almost unbearable meekness in Darnielle's voice drive the sentimentality of "So Desperate" to detrimental levels.
Still, Heretic Pride is a solid album overall, establishing itself early as one of the year's best. There is a lot more to be said about this offering, but Mountain Goats releases are historically divisive among fans (judging by the great Nine Black Poppies v. Tallahassee v. Sunset Tree debate), all of whom will experience and interpret the album in vastly different ways. (4 out of 5)
The Mountain Goat's newest offering, Heretic Pride, is simultaneously a milestone in Darnielle's discography and a bit homogenizing. On one hand, the two year period between the album and its predecessor, Get Lonely, marks one of the band's longest between-release down periods (Darnielle is no stranger to releasing up to four records in a single year). It also displays a break in the thematic cohesion that dominated earlier releases, such as The Sunset Tree's alarmingly personal tale of child abuse, the crumbling marriage of the "Alpha couple" on Tallahassee and the scattered entries in the "Going to…" series.
It doesn't seem as though the relatively lengthy amount of time it took to release Heretic Pride was an attempt on Darnielle's part to flesh out these 13 new songs. The band's website announced the album shortly after its completion in late November with a rambling disclaimer stating its release was delayed due to the annual influx of Queen records in December (possibly hinting at the red tape that surrounds the music business, even on a respected indie label). But it's clear immediately that the bulk of the new tracks had more than enough time to stew before their February release.
"San Bernardino" is a surprisingly hopeful entry into the group's overall catalogue, which is filled with stories of unrequited love, drunken stepfathers and general discontent with the world. The song details a young couple bringing their first son into the world in a cheap, California motel room.
"And we will never be alone in this world/ No matter what they say/ We're gonna be ok," Darnielle sings, articulating the father as a stark contrast to the bitter Alpha husband who wishes death upon himself and his spouse in Tallahassee's "No Children." The track's string arrangement, provided by avant-garde cellist Erik Friedlander, sweetly elaborates on the theme of new life and the bond it can create.
The record's title track quickly switches back to a darker focus. "Heretic Pride" is described by the front man as a "persecution fantasy" where the story's narrator is dragged violently to his death while onlookers cheer for his demise. The song's brilliance is in the lunacy of its story telling. Darnielle's protagonist sings happily of his pending martyrdom, smiling and laughing all the way. The upbeat combination of acoustic guitar, piano and standard rock drum patterns lends itself nicely to the conflicting elements of theme and tone.
Darnielle drops one of his most impressive works to date, "Lovecraft in Brooklyn," near the release's halfway point. This tale of personal paranoia, loosely based on the life of horror writer H.P. Lovecraft, is more than just an attempt to gain literary credibility through name dropping. The furious pace of the band's seldom used distorted guitars and periodic interjections of cacophonous violins replicate the fear associated with many characters in Lovecraft's work. The lyrics articulate Lovecraft's fear of the unknown (without his trademark, racist undertones).
"Woke up afraid of my own shadow/ Like, Genuinely afraid/ Headed for the pawnshop/ To buy myself a switchblade" is sung with a vacant, quivering voice, displaying the songwriter's grasp of Lovecraftian models of psychology.
Heretic Pride is not without its faults. At times Darnielle seems unwilling to break out of the comfort zone he has established over the past decade. The album's opener, "Sax Rohmer #1," seems like a rehash of work from the one-man, boom box recordings that comprised early Mountain Goats releases. The song is solid in terms of writing and production, but by the time the chorus of "I am coming home to you/ With my own blood in my mouth" hits, the whole affair feels like Zopilote Machine's "Going to Georgia" with a fresh, new sheen that can be bought with a bigger label's funding.
"So Desperate" sounds as though it was written for the mediocre Get Lonely. Though not as personal as the majority of Lonely, the song certainly provides just as bleak an outlook on love. What really damages this title is the extent to which it is utterly choked with emotion. The lullaby-like plucking of the guitar and almost unbearable meekness in Darnielle's voice drive the sentimentality of "So Desperate" to detrimental levels.
Still, Heretic Pride is a solid album overall, establishing itself early as one of the year's best. There is a lot more to be said about this offering, but Mountain Goats releases are historically divisive among fans (judging by the great Nine Black Poppies v. Tallahassee v. Sunset Tree debate), all of whom will experience and interpret the album in vastly different ways. (4 out of 5)
Be the first to comment on this story