The Mountain Goats "Heretic Pride" Sounds like: Mountain Goats front man John Darnielle has gotten happier than on the last record
There are certain things that will indubitably be in any Mountain Goats review. One, the band is frustratingly productive. Darnielle has made 16 albums since his 1991 debut and has averaged a full-length per year since 2000. What makes it frustrating is that one man can write so many great songs so often. Indeed, the Goats' records are so numerous and so good, it's hard to keep them straight. But luckily, "Heretic Pride" is so solid that if you're a rookie and don't know where to start, you can feel free to start here.
Another thing found in any Mountain Goats review is how Darnielle started recording on a boom box and that lo-fi sound carried on until his second release in 2000, "Tallahassee." On that record, he embraced a new, fuller, more polished sound. "Heretic Pride" is polished, but where some of their earlier albums seemed almost too clean or too polished, "Heretic Pride" represents a band that has finally settled into a new production style. Darnielle's acoustic guitar is full and punchy, the string arrangements are appropriately placed. Although Darnielle spent the first half of his long career as a solo musician, he sounds more at home than ever with a full backing band.
Darnielle and company manage to maintain the signature storytelling nature of their songs while presenting perhaps the most diverse collection of songs they've ever amassed. Songs like "New Zion" and "Sept. 15 1983" recall the slow and soulful beats of reggae, while "Lovecraft in Brooklyn," surely an ode to gothic sci-fi author H.P. Lovecraft, may be one of Darnielle's most rocking songs. But in addition to the well-read and clever tunes, there are still some of the old emotional heartbreakers that made Darnielle famous - most notably, the precious "San Bernadino."
-CHRIS DEWITT
