In their 30-plus years, The Mountain Goats led by John Darnielle have compiled one of the most breathtakingly vast catalogs in all of music, with a release pace bested only by the album factory that is King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard.
The Goats have put out an LP every year since 2019 (two in 2020), bringing their total to 22 full-lengths. Then there are the EPs, split EPs, live albums, compilations, singles, unreleased work and other trifles that have captured Darnielle’s attention over the years. In short, there is a lot of material at their disposal for live shows, including the one just announced for Turner Hall Ballroom on April 10.
Running through Darnielle’s sources of inspiration is quite something. Music released under The Mountain Goats moniker has tackled such topics as professional wrestling, action movies, meth addiction, lunar organ harvesting and — at the request of The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson — a single titled “The Ultimate Jedi Who Wastes All the Other Jedi and Eats Their Bones.”
My guess is that one is less likely to find its way into the setlist than selections from The Mountain Goats’ most recent album, Jenny from Thebes, which served as a sequel to 2002’s All Hail West Texas. Like the majority of the band’s other releases, the newest LP was met with kind reviews from folks like Pitchfork’s Mitch Therieau, who noted that its songs “bring Jenny back down to the sordid everyday while also imbuing that desperate reality with the soft glow of magic.”
You can catch The Mountain Goats’ particular brand of musical abracadabra at Turner Hall Ballroom on April 10, with Katy Kirby opening. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. this Friday, Jan. 19, online and at the Pabst/Riverside box offices.
