There are certain words that lose all relevance when over-employed in common parlance. When referring to the work of Picasso or the Dadaists, “abstract” becomes cliché, and is more a reflection of the surface knowledge of the user than a description of the art. If someone brings up the music of John Lennon or Bruce Springsteen, “political” just doesn’t quite evince due justice to the magnitude of their craft. And on the occasion that the films of Quentin Tarantino or Roberto Rodriguez are discussed, “violent” doesn’t even begin to cover the stylistic sentiments being conveyed by those two writers and directors. It’s not that those words aren’t apt descriptors, but that they are much too simple and blasé to be used with any real discernment or purpose.
Thus, when examining the work of John Darnielle and his musical vehicle, Mountain Goats, it’s easy to toss out the word “prolific” and be done with it, especially regarding someone who has written an estimated 400 songs in a 15-year-long recording career, from lo-fi home recording into a boombox to penning contemporary folk paeans. With the release of Heretic Pride, Darnielle takes the opportunity to gaze longingly into his past while staring confidently into the future. He reacquaints his listeners with Rachel Ware Zooi, and Sarah Arslanian, two ladies who were regular collaborators with John back in the good ol’ days of Mountain Goats, yet brings along nouveau pop songstress Annie Clark (aka St. Vincent) for a handful of songs. Moreover, Darnielle branches into playing with a full band on a majority of the tracks on the album under the influence of his friends and producers Scott Solter and John Vanderslice. In the end, and as it should be, it’s the songs that take center stage, whether it’s the driving rocker (shock!) “Lovecraft in Brooklyn,” the lively “Autoclave,” or “San Bernadino,” the most evocative, gut-wrenching track on the album, a song about two young lovers bringing their child into the world while in a hotel bathtub. The songs on Heretic Pride might not be as autobiographical as those on Sunset Tree or Get Lonely, but they are further proof that John Darnielle is one of most intensely inventive and literate wordsmiths thriving in music today.
-- Adam P. Newton
