The Mountain Goats reintroduce masterful songwriting in “Jenny from Thebes”
The Mountain Goats are an indie-folk band who have released over 600 songs in the past two decades, with about 20 full albums. Their most recent release, “Jenny from Thebes” dives back into characters and plotlines well-remembered by fans.
Those who know me personally are probably aware just how much I adore The Mountain Goats. For the past three years, John Darnielle’s songwriting has gotten me through some difficult, personal hardships I never thought I would be able to say I survived. Recently, I went to Colorado, partially to see them live for the first time, but the show was sadly canceled the day of.
The new album echoes concepts from “All Hail West Texas,” arguably one of The Mountain Goats’ most well known albums. One of the characters, Jenny, returns to leave the life she led previously. This is the first time former storylines have been mentioned since the 2002 album “Tallahassee,” according to The Mountain Goats social media, and is done so quite smoothly by Darnielle. He alludes to references like “Color in Your Cheeks” and “Jenny,” alluding to the character’s staple strength and boldness of supporting others.
The Mountain Goats have a way with lyricism and poetics I tend to envy. What they do is lay out the basics of storytelling (setting, plot, narrative) in a way so quick that it immerses you in a different environment. Darnielle stands out often due to his nasally voice, but I believe the power of his storytelling should be examined even more than what hundreds of articles and blog posts have already done. They make me say “Stop. Pause. Rewind,” to myself all within the first fifteen seconds of listening, which is a special quality not all musical artists are able to convey well.
“Murder at the 18th St. Garage” distances itself from the album the most, with a fast-paced telling of a person’s murder that later helps Jenny’s life. This song, besides any songs that are from previous albums, is what I am most excited to hear live when The Mountain Goats are in Pittsburgh on December 10, at Thunderbird Music Hall and Café.
Early release tracks such as “Clean Slate” and “Fresh Tattoo” dance around Jenny’s fresh start without giving away too many details, which lets the story expand naturally throughout the 40 minute, 12 track album.
The album shortly falls stagnant with “From the Nebraska Plant,” as it creates a shift in energy from the previously mentioned “Murder at the 18th St. Garage.” For what is supposed to be a sequel album, I did not find that “Jenny from Thebes” was overly repetitive when reintroducing events which happened in “All Hail West Texas.”
While I appreciate the idea of Jenny being seen as a warrior, I find it conflicting with theher pirate persona which Darnielle brings to the forefront.
Overall, I believe that this release is a welcome addition to The Mountain Goats’ catalog of music. The band is skilled in effortlessly tieing background music and lyrics together.
