MOUNTAIN GOATS @ PEARL STREET

Mountain Goats make good on promise

Daily Collegian | March 12, 2008

Tomorrow The Mountain Goats return to the Pearl Street Night Club in Northampton for one of the band's seven East Coast stops.

Last fall, following their last-minute cancellation of a scheduled Pearl Street performance, front man John Darnielle promised disappointed fans that he would make it up to them. Judging by his inclusion of Pearl Street in the relatively small-scale tour, Darnielle is a man of his word.

Originally hailing from California, Darnielle started the band in the early '90s, recording and releasing self-made cassettes using crude and rudimentary recording equipment. While the band's early catalog is extensive and spans multiple platforms, most of their releases were largely impossible to find. Subsequent reissues have followed in the past years, and are a true testament to the band's fervent fan base and increased critical acclaim.

With Darnielle as the primary songwriter, the band has shuffled contributing members and played in various incarnations during their lengthy history. The lineup currently performing on tour is a three-piece band consisting of Darnielle on guitar, Peter Hughes on bass and new addition Jon Wurster, joining them from the band Superchunk, on drums.

With the band's simplified instrumental arrangements serving as a backdrop, the focus and power of Darnielle's unique vocals and lyrical prowess are what propel their songs. Darnielle is so adept at crafting a compelling narrative in the restrictive length of a compact disc that he is frequently commended for being as gifted literary-wise as he is a lyricist.

Over the past five years, Darnielle has transformed The Mountain Goats from its humble beginning as an underground favorite of lo-fi fanatics to a consistent producer of polished and heavily-introspective releases. Traditionally known for his variety and depth of characters and minimalist recordings, Darnielle has used the band's last two albums, 2005's "The Sunset Tree" and 2006's "Get Lonely," as a means of providing listeners insight into the life of the gifted storyteller.

On "The Sunset Tree," Darnielle delved back into his troubled childhood and fractured relationships with his family, lyrically painting visuals of the young songwriter donning headphones while hunched over his turntable in an attempt to drown the sounds of ever present household disputes.

Further advancing his own personal story arch, "Get Lonely" is Darnielle's deflating retelling of a relationship falling apart before his own eyes. The album is full of mellow compositions weighted heavily in desperation and melancholy. While desperation is a common theme that has often appeared in his works, never before "Get Lonely" had the theme been personally connected to the songwriter. "Get Lonely" is Darnielle's most vulnerable moment.

Before these two releases, Darnielle's personal life had never been a lyrical focal point. Providing new insight into the gifted lyricist's own life, the albums are successful departures from his previous catalog, which consisted of songs revolving around such eccentric varieties as drug-dealing high school running backs, men dressed as Superman and prescription pill abusers.

While his last few releases were deeply autobiographical, the band's latest release, "Heretic Pride," is a return to Darnielle's more scattered storytelling approach to song writing. On the album, Darnielle opts to shift the primary lyrical emphasis from personal confessions and anecdotes in favor of unveiling an expansive array of new characters to the lyricist's already elaborate repertoire.

In addition to the lyrical content, the album also heralds a return to the more minimally produced and lo-fi roots that helped define their earlier years.

While "Get Lonely" was the band's most polished and devastatingly introspective work, it also proved a fitting conclusion to Darnielle's venture into personal songwriting.

The Northampton date at Pearl Street is the first stop on the road for the band, in a string of Northeast shows following a number of West Coast performances. Following the March 22 performance in Washington, D.C., the band will conclude the tour with a handful of international dates for fans in Australia.

The Mountain Goats play this Thursday with openers The Moaners and Drew Hickum. Doors open for the event at 8:30 p.m. and tickets are $18 at the door. For tickets or a complete listing of upcoming events, visit iheg.com.