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The Mountain Goats are a United States band formed in
Claremont Claremont may refer to: Places Australia *Claremont, Ipswich, a heritage-listed house in Queensland * Claremont, Tasmania, a suburb of Hobart * Claremont, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth * Town of Claremont, Perth * Claremont Airbase, an ...
,
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, by singer-songwriter
John Darnielle John Darnielle (; born March 16, 1967) is an American musician and novelist best known as the primary, and originally sole, member of the American band The Mountain Goats, for which he is the writer, composer, guitarist, pianist, and vocalist. H ...
. The band is currently based in
Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England **County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham *Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States Durham may also refer to: Places ...
,
North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
. For many years, the sole member of the Mountain Goats was Darnielle, despite the plural moniker. Although he remains the core member of the band, he has worked with a variety of collaborators over time, including bassist and vocalist Peter Hughes, drummer
Jon Wurster Jonathan Patrick Wurster (born October 31, 1966) is an American drummer, percussionist, vocalist and comedy writer. As a musician, he is best known for his work with Superchunk, the Mountain Goats, and Bob Mould. He is also known for appearing on ...
, multi-instrumentalist Matt Douglas, singer-songwriter
Franklin Bruno Franklin Bruno (born December 29, 1968) is an American singer-songwriter, academic and writer originally from Upland, California. He has been a member of Nothing Painted Blue since its inception in 1986. Bruno has written music criticism for on ...
, bassist and vocalist Rachel Ware, singer-songwriter/ producer
John Vanderslice John Warren Vanderslice (born May 22, 1967) is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and recording engineer. He is the owner and founder of Tiny Telephone, an analog recording studio in San Francisco, California, San Francisco and O ...
, guitarist
Kaki King Kaki King (born Katherine Elizabeth King, August 24, 1979) is an American guitarist and composer. King is known for her percussive and jazz-tinged melodies, energetic live shows, use of multiple tunings on acoustic guitar, acoustic and lap steel ...
, and multi-instrumentalist Annie Clark. Throughout the 1990s, the Mountain Goats were known for producing low-fidelity
home recording Home recording is the practice of recording sound in a private home instead of a professional recording studio. A studio set up for home recording is called a home studio or project studio. Home recording is widely practiced by voice actors, narra ...
s (most notably, on a
cassette deck A cassette deck is a type of tape machine for playing and recording audio cassettes that does not have a built-in power amplifier or speakers, and serves primarily as a Transport (recording), transport. It can be a part of an automotive entertai ...
boombox A boombox is a transistorized portable music player featuring one or two cassette tape players/recorders and AM/FM radio, generally with a carrying handle. Beginning in the mid-1990s, a CD player was often included. Sound is delivered thro ...
) and releasing recordings in
cassette Cassette may refer to: Technology * Cassette (format) (or ''cassette tape''), a format that contains magnetic tape for audio, video, and data storage and playback * Compact Cassette, a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback ...
or vinyl 7-inch formats. Since 2002, the Mountain Goats have adopted a more polished approach, often recording studio albums with a full band.


History


Early years

The band's name is a reference to the
Screamin' Jay Hawkins Jalacy J. "Screamin' Jay" Hawkins (July 18, 1929 – February 12, 2000) was an American singer-songwriter, musician, actor, film producer, and boxer. Famed chiefly for his powerful, shouting vocal delivery and wildly theatrical performances of s ...
song "Yellow Coat". Darnielle released his first recording as the Mountain Goats ('' Taboo VI: The Homecoming'', on
Shrimper Records Shrimper Records is an independent record label based in Upland, California. It was founded in 1990 by Dennis Callaci. Roster * Ah Bus * Amps for Christ * The Aum Rifle * Azuza Plane * The Babies * Lou Barlow * Bingo Trappers * Bloated ...
) in 1991. 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. 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, often released in limited numbers. The focus of the Mountain Goats project was the urgency of writing. Songs not recorded adequately to tape within days of being written were often forgotten. Cassette releases during this time include ''The Hound Chronicles'', ''Transmissions to Horace'', ''Hot Garden Stomp'', ''Taking the Dative'', and ''Yam, the King of Crops''. In 1994, the Mountain Goats released their first full-length
studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
, ''
Zopilote Machine ''Zopilote Machine'' is the debut studio album by the Mountain Goats. ("Zopilote" is Spanish for buzzard.) It is the only full album to include the entirety of The Bright Mountain Choir. Track listing Release history Personnel John Darniell ...
'', on
Ajax Records Ajax Records was a record company and label founded in 1921. Jazz and blues records were produced in New York City, with some in Montreal, and marketed via the Ajax Record Company of Chicago. History Ajax was a subsidiary of the Compo Company of ...
. It is the band's only full album featuring the entirety of the Bright Mountain Choir.


1995–2000: ''Sweden'', ''Nothing for Juice'', ''Full Force Galesburg'', and ''The Coroner's Gambit''

By 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 Alastair Galbraith (born 1965) is a New Zealand musician and sound artist from Dunedin. Career Galbraith's first band was The Rip, which he formed with Robbie Muir, and Mathew Ransome and later Jeff Harford (of Bored Games). They released two ...
and
Simon Joyner Simon Joseph Joyner (born 9 August 1971) is an American singer-songwriter from Omaha, Nebraska. He has influenced the music of Bright Eyes, Kevin Morby and Gillian Welch. In the early 1990s, Beck listed Joyner in his top 10 albums when asked b ...
. In November 1996, Darnielle announced a vow to "clear his musical tendency for profanity" to promote a more optimistic reception to the ideas outlined in his material. In 1995, the album ''
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
'' was released. Soon after its recording, a sequel titled ''
Hail and Farewell, Gothenburg The Mountain Goats are a United States band formed in Claremont, California, by singer-songwriter John Darnielle. The band is currently based in Durham, North Carolina. For many years, the sole member of the Mountain Goats was Darnielle, despi ...
'' was recorded, but never released. It remained unheard by the general public until 2007, when it was leaked against Darnielle's wishes. In 1996, the Mountain Goats released the album '' Nothing for Juice'', and '' Full Force Galesburg'' the following year. Rachel Ware left the band between recording the two albums, and bassist Peter Hughes took over her position. Between 1998 and 2000, the Mountain Goats slowed down their prolific output, releasing '' The Coroner's Gambit'' in October 2000. The album partially returned to the band's roots, as most songs were sporadically recorded on Darnielle's old
Panasonic is a Japanese multinational electronics manufacturer, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka, Kadoma, Japan. It was founded in 1918 as in Fukushima-ku, Osaka, Fukushima by Kōnosuke Matsushita. The company was incorporated in 1935 and renamed and c ...
RX-FT500
cassette deck A cassette deck is a type of tape machine for playing and recording audio cassettes that does not have a built-in power amplifier or speakers, and serves primarily as a Transport (recording), transport. It can be a part of an automotive entertai ...
Boombox A boombox is a transistorized portable music player featuring one or two cassette tape players/recorders and AM/FM radio, generally with a carrying handle. Beginning in the mid-1990s, a CD player was often included. Sound is delivered thro ...
, which produced a loud background noise to the songs.


2001–2003: ''All Hail West Texas'' and ''Tallahassee''

2002 saw the release of two Mountain Goats albums: ''
All Hail West Texas ''All Hail West Texas'' is the sixth studio album by the Mountain Goats. After the slight increase in production values on '' The Coroner's Gambit'' album of 2000, ''All Hail West Texas'' was the last Mountain Goats album recorded entirely on ...
'' and ''
Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2024, the est ...
''. 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'', the first Mountain Goats album to be recorded with a full band and in a studio, explores and concludes the relationship of a couple whose lives were the subject of the song cycle known as the Alpha Series. It was the first album to be released on a major label,
4AD 4AD is a British record label owned by Beggars Group. It was founded in London under the name Axis Records by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent in 1980 as an imprint of Beggars Banquet Records. The name was changed to 4AD after the release of th ...
, marking the start of the 4AD years of the band. Also released that year was '' Martial Arts Weekend'', attributed to
The Extra Glenns The Extra Lens, formerly known as The Extra Glenns, is a band made up of Franklin Bruno (of Nothing Painted Blue and The Human Hearts) and John Darnielle (of the Mountain Goats). The band acts as a side project for both artists, and stayed u ...
, a collaboration with
Franklin Bruno Franklin Bruno (born December 29, 1968) is an American singer-songwriter, academic and writer originally from Upland, California. He has been a member of Nothing Painted Blue since its inception in 1986. Bruno has written music criticism for on ...
on several previously unreleased Mountain Goats songs. Following that recording, Bruno joined Darnielle in the studio along with bassist Peter Hughes, who was the second official member of the band and accompanied Darnielle on tour. These three musicians formed what was considered the Mountain Goats studio band.


2004–2009: 4AD years

In 2004, the Mountain Goats released '' We Shall All Be Healed''. The album marked a number of changes for the Mountain Goats, as it was the first time Darnielle worked with producer
John Vanderslice John Warren Vanderslice (born May 22, 1967) is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and recording engineer. He is the owner and founder of Tiny Telephone, an analog recording studio in San Francisco, California, San Francisco and O ...
, 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 Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug use, recreational or Performance-enhancing substance, performance-enhancing drug and less commonly as a secon ...
in
Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...
, though the album is set in
Pomona, California Pomona ( ) is a city in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. Pomona is located in the Pomona Valley, between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's population was ...
. The following year, the band's second Vanderslice-produced album, ''
The Sunset Tree ''The Sunset Tree'' is the ninth studio album by the Mountain Goats, released on April 26, 2005 by 4AD. The album's songs revolve around the house John Darnielle grew up in and the people who lived there, including his mother, sister, stepfathe ...
'', was released. Again autobiographical, Darnielle tackled 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 "extensively autobiographical" song he had written before 2004, the 1999 unreleased song "You're in Maya". The Mountain Goats relocated to
Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...
in 2006, and issued ''
Get Lonely ''Get Lonely'' is the tenth studio album by the Mountain Goats, released in the UK on August 21, 2006 on 4AD. It was released in the US on the following day, August 22, and in Japan on December 6, 2006. It peaked at #193 on the Billboard top ...
'', which was produced by Scott Solter, who had worked with Vanderslice on engineering for prior Mountain Goats records.
Jon Wurster Jonathan Patrick Wurster (born October 31, 1966) is an American drummer, percussionist, vocalist and comedy writer. As a musician, he is best known for his work with Superchunk, the Mountain Goats, and Bob Mould. He is also known for appearing on ...
joined the group in 2007, playing drums on the last leg of the ''Get Lonely'' tour. The band recorded tracks for its next album at Prairie Sun studios. Entitled ''
Heretic Pride ''Heretic Pride'' is the eleventh studio album by the Mountain Goats, released in the UK on February 18, 2008, and in the US on February 19 by 4AD, their sixth album on the label. It is the first to feature the band's lineup of John Darnielle, ...
'', the album was released on 19 February 2008. Produced by John Vanderslice and Scott Solter, the album saw Darnielle, Hughes, and Wurster joined by Franklin Bruno, Erik Friedlander, Annie Clark (better known by her stage name, St. Vincent), and members of The Bright Mountain Choir. American
alternative hip hop Alternative hip-hop (also known as alternative rap and experimental hip-hop) is a subgenre of hip-hop music that encompasses a wide range of styles that are not typically identified as mainstream. AllMusic defines it as comprising "hip-hop group ...
artist
Aesop Rock Ian Matthias Bavitz (born June 5, 1976), better known by his stage name Aesop Rock, is an American rapper and producer from Long Island, New York. He was at the forefront of the new wave of underground and alternative hip hop acts that emerg ...
released a remix of the track "
Lovecraft in Brooklyn "Lovecraft in Brooklyn" is the eighth track on the Mountain Goats' ''Heretic Pride'' album released in 2008 on 4AD. The title refers to the fears of horror fiction writer H. P. Lovecraft during his residence in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Lyrics In ...
" from the album, and in return Darnielle contributed vocals to his album ''
None Shall Pass ''None Shall Pass'' is the fifth studio album by American hip hop artist Aesop Rock. It was released on Definitive Jux on August 28, 2007. Music The album features production by Blockhead, El-P, Rob Sonic, and Aesop Rock himself. Guest appear ...
'', in the song "Coffee". In 2009, Darnielle and Vanderslice collaborated on the record '' Moon Colony Bloodbath''. Released in a limited vinyl run of 1000 and sold during their "Gone Primitive" tour, the EP was a concept record about
organ harvesting Organ procurement (also called surgical recovery) is a surgical procedure that removes organs or tissues for reuse, typically for organ transplantation. Procedures If the organ donor is human, most countries require that the donor be legally d ...
colonies on the
Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...
. This was followed by the next full Mountain Goats album, ''
The Life of the World to Come ''The Life of the World to Come'' (2004) is a science fiction novel by American writer Kage Baker, the fifth installment in the time travel series concerning the exploits of The Company. Plot introduction This novel is another chapter in the d ...
'', which released in October of the same year. The album is composed of twelve tracks, each one inspired by (and titled after) a single verse of the Christian
Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...
. In publicizing the record, the band made their first ever television appearance, performing "Psalms 40:2" on ''
The Colbert Report ''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late night television, late-night Late-night talk show, talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December ...
'', hosted by professed Mountain Goats fan
Stephen Colbert Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program ''The Colbert Report'' from 2005 to ...
.


2010–present: Merge Records years

The Mountain Goats signed to
Merge Records Merge Records is an independent record label based in Durham, North Carolina. It was founded in 1989 by Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan. It began as an outlet for music from their band Superchunk and music created by friends, and has expand ...
, home to drummer Jon Wurster's other band,
Superchunk Superchunk is an American indie rock band from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, consisting of singer-guitarist Mac McCaughan, guitarist Jim Wilbur, bassist Laura Ballance, and drummer Laura King. Formed in 1989, they were one of the bands that hel ...
, in 2010. The label issued a new record by
The Extra Lens The Extra Lens, formerly known as The Extra Glenns, is a band made up of Franklin Bruno (of Nothing Painted Blue and The Human Hearts) and John Darnielle (of the Mountain Goats). The band acts as a side project for both artists, and stayed u ...
, formerly The Extra Glenns, entitled ''
Undercard In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...
'', followed by another Mountain Goats LP, ''
All Eternals Deck ''All Eternals Deck'' is the thirteenth studio album by the Mountain Goats, released on March 29, 2011 by Merge Records. "All Eternals Deck" refers to a fictional set of Tarot cards, the history and details of which are described in the album's ...
'', in 2011. They were also chosen by
Jeff Mangum Jeffrey Nye Mangum (born 24 October 1970) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who gained prominence as the founder, songwriter, vocalist and guitarist of Neutral Milk Hotel, as well for his co-founding of The Elephant 6 Recording Comp ...
of
Neutral Milk Hotel Neutral Milk Hotel was an American band formed by Jeff Mangum in Ruston, Louisiana, in 1989. They were active until 1998, and then from 2013 to 2015. The band's music featured a deliberately low-quality sound, influenced by indie rock and psy ...
to perform at the
All Tomorrow's Parties "All Tomorrow's Parties" is a song by the Velvet Underground and Nico, written by Lou Reed and released as the band's debut single in 1966. The song is from their 1967 debut studio album, ''The Velvet Underground & Nico''. Inspiration for the so ...
festival that he was due to curate in December 2011 in Minehead, England, but were unable to appear due to a rescheduling. The band's fourteenth studio album, '' Transcendental Youth'', was released in late 2012, and in early 2013 they played at Carnegie Hall in support of
John Green John Michael Green (born August 24, 1977) is an American author and YouTuber. His books have more than 50 million copies in print worldwide, including ''The Fault in Our Stars'' (2012), which is one of the List of best-selling books#Bet ...
and
Hank Green William Henry Green II (born May 5, 1980) is an American YouTuber, science communicator, novelist, Stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian, and entrepreneur. He produces the YouTube channel Vlogbrothers with his older brother, author John Green, a ...
in their "Evening of Awesome" performance. In July 2013, ''
All Hail West Texas ''All Hail West Texas'' is the sixth studio album by the Mountain Goats. After the slight increase in production values on '' The Coroner's Gambit'' album of 2000, ''All Hail West Texas'' was the last Mountain Goats album recorded entirely on ...
'' was re-released on vinyl. During an interview with
Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several awar ...
in August 2012, John Darnielle said that
Amy Grant Amy Lee Grant (born November 25, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She began her music career in contemporary Christian music (CCM) before crossing over to pop music in the mid-1980s. Grant has been referred to as "Honorific ...
was his favorite pop artist, and noted that "
Rich Mullins Richard Wayne Mullins (October 21, 1955 – September 19, 1997) was an American contemporary Christian music singer and songwriter best known for his contemporary worship music, worship songs "Awesome God" and "Sometimes by Step". Some of his ...
is one of the best songwriters I know of." Mullins was the songwriter who penned many of Grant's hits. The Mountain Goats released their 15th album, ''
Beat the Champ ''Beat the Champ'' is the fifteenth studio album by The Mountain Goats, released on April 7, 2015 on Merge Records. The release is a concept album on professional wrestling, though frontman John Darnielle has stated that several of its songs are ...
'', on 7 April 2015, again with
Merge Records Merge Records is an independent record label based in Durham, North Carolina. It was founded in 1989 by Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan. It began as an outlet for music from their band Superchunk and music created by friends, and has expand ...
. According to
Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music magazine founded in 1996 by Ryan Schreiber in Minneapolis. It originally covered Alternative rock, alternative and independent music, and expanded to cover genres includin ...
, the album concentrates on the
professional wrestlers Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...
Darnielle admired when he was a child and tries to develop and imagine their lives. Multi-instrumentalist Matt Douglas assisted the group in recording the album, and soon thereafter became a full-time member. In January 2017, the Mountain Goats recorded a humorous song per request of director
Rian Johnson Rian Craig Johnson (born December 17, 1973) is an American filmmaker. He made his directorial debut with the neo-noir mystery film ''Brick (film), Brick'' (2005), which received positive reviews and grossed nearly $4 million on a $450,000 budget ...
, depicting an alternate story of his upcoming movie, '' Star Wars: The Last Jedi''. The song, titled "The Ultimate Jedi Who Wastes All the Other Jedi and Eats Their Bones", was published on Johnson's
SoundCloud SoundCloud is a German audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG. The service enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is ...
page. In May 2017, they released their sixteenth studio album, ''
Goths The Goths were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe. They were first reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 3rd century AD, living north of the Danube in what is ...
''. The band has stated that ''Goths'' was inspired by an adolescence listening to
The Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Crawley in 1976 by Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith (vocals, guitar) and Lol Tolhurst (drums). The band's current line-up comprises Smith, Perry Bamonte (guitar and keyboards), Reev ...
,
Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the , was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined Decorative arts, crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., ...
,
Siouxsie and the Banshees Siouxsie and the Banshees ( ) were a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. Post-punk pioneers, they were widely influential, both over their contemporaries and later ...
, and
Joy Division Joy Division were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist, guitarist and lyricist Ian Curtis, guitarist and keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris (musici ...
, as well as hearing songs on the Californian radio station
KROQ-FM KROQ-FM (106.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Pasadena, California, serving Greater Los Angeles. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it broadcasts an alternative rock format known as "The World Famous KROQ" (pronounced "kay-rock"). The sta ...
. In January 2019, the band announced the April 26 release of their ''
Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) originally created and designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical ...
'' inspired album, ''
In League with Dragons ''In League With Dragons'' is the seventeenth studio album by the Mountain Goats, released on April 26, 2019, on Merge Records. Inspired by tabletop role-playing games such as ''Dungeons & Dragons'', the album has been described as a "partial r ...
'' (and released initial single, "Younger"), via Merge Records. The announcement was accompanied by a live music stream from the
Wizards of the Coast Wizards of the Coast LLC (WotC or Wizards) is an American game Publishing, publisher, most of which are based on fantasy and List of science fiction themes, science-fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail game stores. In 1999, toy ...
headquarters. In March 2020, while the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
left the band unable to tour, Darnielle retrieved his old Panasonic RX-FT500 tape deck and recorded 10 new songs, using the direct-to-boombox method for the first time since 2002's ''All Hail West Texas''. The resulting album, entitled ''
Songs for Pierre Chuvin ''Songs for Pierre Chuvin'' is the eighteenth studio album by the Mountain Goats, released on April 10, 2020. It is the first album since 2002's ''All Hail West Texas'' to feature only the band's frontman, John Darnielle, as well as the first sinc ...
'', was inspired by Darnielle's reading of
Pierre Chuvin Pierre Chuvin (18 July 1943 – 26 December 2016) was a French hellenist and historian. He specialized in ancient Greece and Greek mythology, as well as modern Central Asia and the Turkic-speaking world. Biography He studied at the Université de ...
's 1990 book ''A Chronicle of the Last Pagans'', and was released digitally on April 10, 2020, with a limited physical release on cassette through Merge Records. The Mountain Goats announced in August 2020 that the band's nineteenth studio album, ''
Getting Into Knives ''Getting Into Knives'' is the nineteenth studio album by indie folk band the Mountain Goats, released on October 23, 2020, through Merge Records. The album was recorded in March 2020 over six days at Sam Philips Recording in Memphis, in the sam ...
'', would be released on October 23, 2020, on CD, vinyl, cassette, and digital. In April 2021, the Mountain Goats announced their album '' Dark in Here'', released on June 25, alongside the release of its first single "Mobile". The album was recorded at
FAME Studios FAME (Florence Alabama Music Enterprises) Studios is a recording studio located at 603 East Avalon Avenue in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, United States, an area of northern Alabama known as the Shoals. Though small and distant from the main recording l ...
. The band's 21st album, '' Bleed Out'', was released on August19, 2022. In July 2023, the band announced their 22nd album ''
Jenny from Thebes ''Jenny from Thebes'' is the 22nd studio album by indie folk band the Mountain Goats, released on October 27, 2023, through Merge Records. The album serves as a sequel to the band's 2002 release ''All Hail West Texas'', and is structured as a roc ...
'', a "rock opera about a woman named Jenny", would be released on October27, 2023. The character "Jenny" has appeared in several previous songs by the band, notably in several from ''
All Hail West Texas ''All Hail West Texas'' is the sixth studio album by the Mountain Goats. After the slight increase in production values on '' The Coroner's Gambit'' album of 2000, ''All Hail West Texas'' was the last Mountain Goats album recorded entirely on ...
''. Peter Hughes announced his departure from the band in August 2024, citing "health and sanity" concerns among other reasons.


Members


Current members

*
John Darnielle John Darnielle (; born March 16, 1967) is an American musician and novelist best known as the primary, and originally sole, member of the American band The Mountain Goats, for which he is the writer, composer, guitarist, pianist, and vocalist. H ...
– vocals, guitar, keyboard (1991–present) *
Jon Wurster Jonathan Patrick Wurster (born October 31, 1966) is an American drummer, percussionist, vocalist and comedy writer. As a musician, he is best known for his work with Superchunk, the Mountain Goats, and Bob Mould. He is also known for appearing on ...
– drums (2007–present) * Matt Douglas – flute, saxophone, clarinet, guitar, keyboard, backing vocals (2015–present)


Current touring members

* Isa Burke – violin, guitar (2023–present)


Former members and collaborators

* Peter Hughes – bass, backing vocals (1996, 2002–2024) * Rachel Ware – bass, vocals (1992–1995) * The Bright Mountain Choir (Rachel Ware, Amy Piatt, Sarah Arslanian, Rosanne Lindley) * The North Mass Mountain Choir *
Franklin Bruno Franklin Bruno (born December 29, 1968) is an American singer-songwriter, academic and writer originally from Upland, California. He has been a member of Nothing Painted Blue since its inception in 1986. Bruno has written music criticism for on ...
– piano * Lalitree Darnielle – banjo *
Alastair Galbraith Alastair Galbraith (born 1965) is a New Zealand musician and sound artist from Dunedin. Career Galbraith's first band was The Rip, which he formed with Robbie Muir, and Mathew Ransome and later Jeff Harford (of Bored Games). They released two ...
– violin * Graeme Jefferies – guitar *
John Vanderslice John Warren Vanderslice (born May 22, 1967) is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and recording engineer. He is the owner and founder of Tiny Telephone, an analog recording studio in San Francisco, California, San Francisco and O ...
*
Erik Friedlander Erik Friedlander is an American cellist and composer based in New York City. A veteran of New York City's experimental downtown scene, Friedlander has worked in many contexts, but is perhaps best known for his frequent collaborations with sax ...
– cello *
Owen Pallett Michael James Owen Pallett-Plowright (born September 7, 1979), known professionally as Owen Pallett, is a Canadian composer, violinist, keyboardist, and vocalist. Under their former pseudonym Final Fantasy, Pallett won the 2006 Polaris Music P ...
– strings * Scott Solter * Alex Decarville *
Richard Colburn Richard Colburn (born 25 July 1970) is a Scottish musician and the drummer of the Scottish indie band Belle & Sebastian. Before he joined Belle & Sebastian, he used to sell pies on match days outside Celtic Park and studied Music Business at Sto ...
– drums * Christopher McGuire – drums * Nora Danielson – violin * Maggie Doyle – keytar *
Kaki King Kaki King (born Katherine Elizabeth King, August 24, 1979) is an American guitarist and composer. King is known for her percussive and jazz-tinged melodies, energetic live shows, use of multiple tunings on acoustic guitar, acoustic and lap steel ...
* Yuval Semo – organ, piano, string arrangement *
Alicia Bognanno Bully is the solo project of American singer, songwriter and guitarist Alicia Bognanno. The project originally began as a rock band, formed in 2013 in Nashville, Tennessee. They signed to Columbia Records label Startime International and release ...
– guitar, keyboard, backing vocals


Timeline


Discography

Studio albums *''
Zopilote Machine ''Zopilote Machine'' is the debut studio album by the Mountain Goats. ("Zopilote" is Spanish for buzzard.) It is the only full album to include the entirety of The Bright Mountain Choir. Track listing Release history Personnel John Darniell ...
'' (1994) *''
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
'' (1995) *'' Nothing for Juice'' (1996) *'' Full Force Galesburg'' (1997) *'' The Coroner's Gambit'' (2000) *''
All Hail West Texas ''All Hail West Texas'' is the sixth studio album by the Mountain Goats. After the slight increase in production values on '' The Coroner's Gambit'' album of 2000, ''All Hail West Texas'' was the last Mountain Goats album recorded entirely on ...
'' (2002) *''
Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2024, the est ...
'' (2002) *'' We Shall All Be Healed'' (2004) *''
The Sunset Tree ''The Sunset Tree'' is the ninth studio album by the Mountain Goats, released on April 26, 2005 by 4AD. The album's songs revolve around the house John Darnielle grew up in and the people who lived there, including his mother, sister, stepfathe ...
'' (2005) *''
Get Lonely ''Get Lonely'' is the tenth studio album by the Mountain Goats, released in the UK on August 21, 2006 on 4AD. It was released in the US on the following day, August 22, and in Japan on December 6, 2006. It peaked at #193 on the Billboard top ...
'' (2006) *''
Heretic Pride ''Heretic Pride'' is the eleventh studio album by the Mountain Goats, released in the UK on February 18, 2008, and in the US on February 19 by 4AD, their sixth album on the label. It is the first to feature the band's lineup of John Darnielle, ...
'' (2008) *''
The Life of the World to Come ''The Life of the World to Come'' (2004) is a science fiction novel by American writer Kage Baker, the fifth installment in the time travel series concerning the exploits of The Company. Plot introduction This novel is another chapter in the d ...
'' (2009) *''
All Eternals Deck ''All Eternals Deck'' is the thirteenth studio album by the Mountain Goats, released on March 29, 2011 by Merge Records. "All Eternals Deck" refers to a fictional set of Tarot cards, the history and details of which are described in the album's ...
'' (2011) *'' Transcendental Youth'' (2012) *''
Beat the Champ ''Beat the Champ'' is the fifteenth studio album by The Mountain Goats, released on April 7, 2015 on Merge Records. The release is a concept album on professional wrestling, though frontman John Darnielle has stated that several of its songs are ...
'' (2015) *''
Goths The Goths were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe. They were first reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 3rd century AD, living north of the Danube in what is ...
'' (2017) *''
In League with Dragons ''In League With Dragons'' is the seventeenth studio album by the Mountain Goats, released on April 26, 2019, on Merge Records. Inspired by tabletop role-playing games such as ''Dungeons & Dragons'', the album has been described as a "partial r ...
'' (2019) *''
Songs for Pierre Chuvin ''Songs for Pierre Chuvin'' is the eighteenth studio album by the Mountain Goats, released on April 10, 2020. It is the first album since 2002's ''All Hail West Texas'' to feature only the band's frontman, John Darnielle, as well as the first sinc ...
'' (2020) *''
Getting Into Knives ''Getting Into Knives'' is the nineteenth studio album by indie folk band the Mountain Goats, released on October 23, 2020, through Merge Records. The album was recorded in March 2020 over six days at Sam Philips Recording in Memphis, in the sam ...
'' (2020) *'' Dark in Here'' (2021) *'' Bleed Out'' (2022) *''
Jenny from Thebes ''Jenny from Thebes'' is the 22nd studio album by indie folk band the Mountain Goats, released on October 27, 2023, through Merge Records. The album serves as a sequel to the band's 2002 release ''All Hail West Texas'', and is structured as a roc ...
'' (2023)


In other media

In the
Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...
television series ''
Weeds A weed is an unwanted plant of any species. Weed or weeds may also refer to: Places * Weed, Arkansas, an unincorporated community in the United States * Weed, California, a city in the United States * Weed, Kentucky, an unincorporated communit ...
,'' the band performed the Theme to Weeds (Malvina Reynolds’ "
Little Boxes "Little Boxes" is a song written and composed by Malvina Reynolds in 1962. The song was first released by her friend, Pete Seeger, in 1963, and became his only charting single in January 1964. The song is a social satire about the developm ...
") during the opening credits of Season 8, Episode 5. The
Adult Swim Adult Swim (stylized as
dult swim Dult is a village in Batala in Gurdaspur district of Punjab State, India. It is located from sub district headquarter, from district headquarter and from Sri Hargobindpur. The village is administrated by Sarpanch an elected representativ ...
and s is an American adult-oriented television programming block that airs on Cartoon Network which broadcasts during the evening, prime time, and Late-night television, late-night Dayparting, dayparts. T ...
show ''
Moral Orel ''Moral Orel'' is an American adult stop-motion animated black comedy drama series created by Dino Stamatopoulos which originally aired on Cartoon Network's nighttime programming block Adult Swim from December 13, 2005, to December 18, 2008. Th ...
'' featured "Love, Love, Love", "Old College Try", and "
No Children "No Children" is a 2002 song by American band the Mountain Goats from their album ''Tallahassee'', about a married couple who hate each other. Songwriter John Darnielle said that he is "not laughing with (the characters in the song)" but rather "l ...
" on several episodes of Season 3. The band made their television debut on October 6, 2009, playing "Psalms 40:2" on ''
The Colbert Report ''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late night television, late-night Late-night talk show, talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December ...
''. On January 19, 2010, they played "Genesis 3:23" on ''
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show was the third installment of the '' Late Night'' franchise. Hosted by Jimmy Fallon,
''. On February 23, 2011, they played "Birth of Serpents" in support of their album, ''
All Eternals Deck ''All Eternals Deck'' is the thirteenth studio album by the Mountain Goats, released on March 29, 2011 by Merge Records. "All Eternals Deck" refers to a fictional set of Tarot cards, the history and details of which are described in the album's ...
'', on the ''
Late Show with David Letterman ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production com ...
''. On April 6, 2015, the band performed "Foreign Object" on ''
Late Night with Seth Meyers ''Late Night with Seth Meyers'' is an American late-night news and political satire variety talk show hosted by Seth Meyers on NBC. The show premiered on February 24, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. Airing w ...
'' while promoting ''
Beat the Champ ''Beat the Champ'' is the fifteenth studio album by The Mountain Goats, released on April 7, 2015 on Merge Records. The release is a concept album on professional wrestling, though frontman John Darnielle has stated that several of its songs are ...
''. In July 2019, the band performed on ''
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert ''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' is an American late-night talk show, late-night news satire, news and liberal political satire talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert, which premiered on September 8, 2015. Produced by Stephen Colbert, Spartin ...
'', with
Stephen Colbert Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program ''The Colbert Report'' from 2005 to ...
joining in to sing "This Year".


References


Further reading

* Adams, Tim (2004)
"Discography of The Mountain Goats"
. Retrieved 19 March 2005 * Adams, Tim (2005)

Retrieved 19 March 2005 * themountaingoats.net staff (2004)

Retrieved 20 March 2005 * unknown author (2003)

Retrieved 20 March 2005 * Nickey, Jason(2000). "Mountain Goats Biography" Retrieved 20 March 2005


External links


Official site

themountaingoats.net

Five Tools
Peter Hughes webpage with band photos and tour journals. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mountain Goats, The Indie rock musical groups from California Musical collectives 4AD artists Lo-fi music groups American folk musical groups American indie folk groups Musicians from Durham, North Carolina Merge Records artists Shrimper Records artists Absolutely Kosher Records artists 1991 establishments in California Musical groups established in 1991