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Sep 26, 2023

The Mountain Goats are releasing a new album, Jenny from Thebes, on October 27 via Merge. Now they have shared its third single, “Murder at the 18th St. Garage,” via a music video. More

9 Best Songs of the Week: The Mountain Goats, Mitski, Ratboys, A. Savage, and More

Plus L’Rain, Anjimile, GUM, Patio, and a Wrap-up of the Week’s Other Notable New Tracks

Aug 25, 2023

Welcome to the 26th Songs of the Week of 2023. Last week’s Songs of the Week was our first one after a month-long hiatus and there were a lot of strong choices (plus we put together a playlist of all the great songs we missed while on vacation). This week, the pickings weren’t as plentiful, but there were still some new tracks we liked. More

Aug 23, 2023

The Mountain Goats are releasing a new album, Jenny from Thebes, on October 27 via Merge. Now they have shared its second single, “Fresh Tattoo,” and announced some new December tour dates. More

Jul 19, 2023

Folk rock band, The Mountain Goats have announced their new album Jenny from Thebes and shared its lead single “Clean Slate.” More

Under the Radar Announces Issue 71 Featuring Weyes Blood and Black Belt Eagle Scout on the Covers

Issue 71 Also Features Interviews with Angel Olsen, M83, The New Pornographers, John Cale, Indigo De Souza, Lael Neale, Phoenix, Dry Cleaning, Miss Grit, Sleaford Mods, The WAEVE, Shame, Bartees Strange, Caroline Rose, and More

Apr 05, 2023

Under the Radar is excited to announce the full details of our new print issue, Issue 71, which features Weyes Blood and Black Belt Eagle Scout on the two covers. Issue 71 also features interviews with Angel Olsen, M83, The New Pornographers, John Cale, Indigo De Souza, Lael Neale, Phoenix, Dry Cleaning, Miss Grit, Sleaford Mods, The WAEVE, Shame, Bartees Strange, Caroline Rose, Stella Donnelly, Florist, Hot Chip, black midi, Jockstrap, Horsegirl, Blondshell, Sleaford Mods, Beth Orton, and others. More

Sep 14, 2022

John Darnielle lives purely in the creative moment, whether he is crafting songs for his band The Mountain Goats, writing novels like his newest work Devil House, or simply trying to figure out why his phone has duplicated all of his contacts. More

The Mountain Goats Share New Single “Mark on You”

Bleed Out Due Out August 19 via Merge

Aug 02, 2022

The Mountain Goats have shared a new single, “Mark on You.” It is the latest release from their forthcoming album, Bleed Out, which was produced by Alicia Bognanno of Bully and will be out on August 19 via Merge. More

Jul 11, 2022

The Mountain Goats have shared a new single, “Wage Wars Get Rich Die Handsome.” It is the latest release from their forthcoming album, Bleed Out, which was produced by Alicia Bognanno of Bully and will be out on August 19 via Merge. More

10 Best Songs of the Week: Viagra Boys, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Beth Orton, Flasher, and More

Plus Florist, Andrew Bird, Angel Olsen, of Montreal, and a Wrap-up of the Week’s Other Notable New Tracks

Jun 03, 2022

Welcome to the 22nd Songs of the Week of 2022. Thanks to the Memorial Day holiday on Monday, it was a fairly quiet week for new singles (or at least new singles we loved). We even considered skipping Songs of the Week this week, but found enough we liked for a Top 10 list. More

Jun 02, 2022

The Mountain Goats have announced the release of a new album, Bleed Out, which was produced by Alicia Bognanno of Bully, and shared a video for the album’s lead single, “Training Montage.” They have also announced a new tour in support of the album. More

Sep 09, 2021

Mac McCaughan of Superchunk (and also co-founder of Merge Records) is releasing a new solo album, The Sound of Yourself, on September 24 via Merge (of course). Now he has shared its third single, the atmospheric and dreamy “Burn a Fax,” via a video that features a snail. The song features guest vocals from TORRES (aka MacKenzie Scott) and saxophone from Matt Douglas of The Mountain Goats. More

The Mountain Goats Share New Song “Dark in Here”

Dark in Here Due Out June 25 via Merge

Jun 03, 2021

The Mountain Goats are releasing a new album, Dark in Here, on June 25 via Merge. Now they have shared the album’s title track. Listen below, followed by the band’s upcoming tour dates. More

12 Best Songs of the Week: TORRES, SPELLLING, The Goon Sax, Wolf Alice, and More

Plus St. Vincent, Leon Bridges, Sleater-Kinney, and a Wrap-up of the Week’s Other Notable New Tracks

May 14, 2021

Welcome to the 18th Songs of the Week of 2021. This week the CDC relaxed mask guidelines for those who have been vaccinated, helping to further pave the way for live music to return this fall. Although, right now there’s no clear way for venues or stores to check if someone is vaccinated. More

May 11, 2021

The Mountain Goats are releasing a new album, Dark in Here, on June 25 via Merge. Now they have shared a new song from it, “The Slow Parts on Death Metal Albums.” More

Under the Radar Announces The Protest Issue with Japanese Breakfast and HAIM on the Covers

Issue 68 Out Now and Also Includes Julien Baker, Wolf Alice, Tegan and Sara, Arlo Parks, Fleet Foxes, Jessie Ware, Shamir, Lucy Dacus, Valerie June, David Byrne, Julian Casablancas, and Much More

Apr 21, 2021

Under the Radar is excited to announce the full details of our new print issue, which is out now nationwide (on newsstands, in such stores as Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million, and elsewhere) and available to buy directly from us here. The issue features Japanese Breakfast and HAIM on the two covers and is another edition of The Protest Issue, which examines the intersection of music and politics and features musicians photographed with protest signs of their own making. More

Apr 19, 2021

The Mountain Goats have announced a new album, Dark in Here, and shared its first single, “Mobile,” via a lyric video for it. More

Oct 13, 2020

The Mountain Goats are releasing a new album, Getting Into Knives, on October 23 via Merge. Now they have shared another song from it, “Picture of My Dress.” They have also announced two online concerts.

More

The Mountain Goats Become Bobbleheads in the Video for “Get Famous”

Getting Into Knives Due Out October 23 via Merge

Oct 01, 2020

The Mountain Goats are releasing a new album, Getting Into Knives, on October 23 via Merge. Now they have shared a video for the album’s previously shared second single, “Get Famous,” in which the band are bobbleheads. More

10 Best Songs of the Week: Porridge Radio, Still Corners, The Mountain Goats, Jeff Tweedy, and More

Plus Tim Heidecker, Sufjan Stevens, Future Islands, and a Wrap-up of the Week’s Other Notable New Tracks

Sep 18, 2020

Welcome to the 37th Songs of the Week of 2020. Just as we were finishing up this week’s list we got word that beloved Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has died. As if 2020 couldn’t get any worse. R.I.P. a true legend, the Notorious RBG. More

The Mountain Goats Share New Song “Get Famous”

Getting Into Knives Due Out October 23 via Merge

Sep 14, 2020

The Mountain Goats are releasing a new album, Getting Into Knives, on October 23 via Merge. Now they have shared its second single, “Get Famous.” It’s a horn-backed song that makes fun of wanting to be famous. More

11 Best Songs of the Week: Bartees Strange, Sufjan Stevens, Jónsi, Oceanator, and More

Plus Marie Davidson, The Flaming Lips, TRAAMS, Future Islands, and a Wrap-up of the Week’s Other Notable New Tracks

Aug 14, 2020

Welcome to the 32nd Songs of the Week of 2020. This week’s big political news was Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden announcing his highly capable running mate, Senator Kamala Harris. More

Aug 11, 2020

The Mountain Goats have announced a new album, Getting Into Knives, and shared its first single, “As Many Candles As Possible,” via a lyric video for it. More

12 Best Songs of the Last Two Weeks: Angel Olsen, Elbow, Dry Cleaning, and More

Plus Cate Le Bon and Bradford Cox, Chromatics, Jaakko Eino Kalevi, and a Wrap-up of the Week’s Other Notable New Tracks

Oct 04, 2019

Welcome to another Songs of the Week. We had to skip it last week because we were too busy announcing our new print issue, the My Favorite Album Issue with Angel Olsen and Sleater-Kinney on the covers (buy it here), and also we weren’t overly inspired by last week’s selection of new tracks. So this week we cover the best songs of the last two weeks. More

Under the Radar Announces My Favorite Album Issue with Angel Olsen and Sleater-Kinney Covers

Issue 66 Features Musicians and Actors on Their All-Time Favorite Albums, including Tegan and Sara, Wilco, Weyes Blood, Sigur Rós, Fred Armisen, Topher Grace, Jay Baruchel, Low, and more

Sep 27, 2019

Under the Radar is excited to announce the My Favorite Album Issue, our new print issue in which we speak to musicians and actors about their all-time favorite album. The issue features Angel Olsen and Sleater-Kinney on the two covers and is available to buy directly from us here, as well as being distributed in stores nationwide (on newsstands, in such stores as Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million, and elsewhere). More

Sep 25, 2019

The Mountain Goats released a new album, In League With Dragons, back in April via Merge. Now they have shared a new B-side, “Get High and Listen to The Cure,” which was fittingly written for 2017’s Goths. It appears on the B-side of the 7-inch single for In League With Dragons single “Welcome to Passaic.” More

Apr 12, 2019

The Mountain Goats are releasing a new album, In League With Dragons, on April 26 via Merge. Now they have shared another song from it, “Sicilian Crest.” More

The Mountain Goats Share New Song “Cadaver Sniffing Dog”

In League With Dragons Due Out April 26 via Merge

Mar 04, 2019

The Mountain Goats are releasing a new album, In League With Dragons, on April 26 via Merge. Previously they shared its first single, “Younger” (which was one of our Songs of the Week). Now they have shared another song from it, “Cadaver Sniffing Dog.” More

Merge Records Announces Initial Lineup for 30th Anniversary Festival

July 24-27, 2019, in Carrboro and Durham, NC - Destroyer, Wye Oak, Waxahatchee, The Mountain Goats, Superchunk, and More

Feb 06, 2019

Merge Records are celebrating their 30th anniversary with a hometown festival July 24-27, 2019, in Carrboro and Durham, NC. The four-day festival is set to feature more than 30 artists and the initial lineup has been announced. More

7 Best Songs of the Week: These New Puritans, Andrew Bird, The Mountain Goats, and More

Plus King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Cass McCombs, Interpol, Stella Donnelly, and a Wrap-up of the Week's Other Notable New Tracks

Feb 01, 2019

After three strong weeks of Songs of the Week starting out 2019 right, this week we hit a bit of a lull. Whereas last week we had a supersized edition, with a Top 12 instead of our usual Top 10, this week we could only muster up enthusiasm for a Top 7. More

The Mountain Goats Announce New Album, Share New Song “Younger”

In League With Dragons Due Out April 26 via Merge

Jan 28, 2019

The Mountain Goats have announced a new album, In League With Dragons, and shared its first single, “Younger.” In League With Dragons is due out April 26 via Merge. More

Outside Lands 2018 Lineup: Florence + The Machine, Janet Jackson, CHVRCHES, Beck, Bon Iver, and More

Plus The Weeknd, Huey Lewis and the News, Father John Misty, Broken Social Scene, Jamie xx, Mac DeMarco, Jessie Ware, Perfume Genius, Lucy Dacus, James Blake, and More

Apr 03, 2018

Outside Lands have announced their 2018 lineup. The festival goes down August 10 - 12 at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. The headliners are Florence + The Machine, Janet Jackson, and The Weeknd. More

Amanda Palmer Covers The Mountain Goats’ “The Mess Inside”

I Only Listen to the Mountain Goats: All Hail West Texas Due Out April 6 via Merge

Jan 25, 2018

Amanda Palmer has covered The Mountain Goats’ “The Mess Inside” for the I Only Listen to the Mountain Goats podcast. The podcast is a conversation series featuring Mountain Goats frontman John Darnielle and Joseph Fink, creator of Welcome to Night Vale and Alice Isn’t Dead. More

Soundtracking the Resistance - Fascists in America

Examining Trump's Response to the White Supremacist Rally and Violence in Charlottesville, Virginia

Aug 18, 2017

With the President outdoing himself in a bid to appear like a terrible human being, there’s only really one thing to talk about this week. Still, read on and you might find a few positive developments outside his Charlottesville debacle. More

Jul 28, 2017

This week Jake Snider from Minus the Bear discusses the future of the right, the state of the country, and his move from one side of the political spectrum to the other. We also round-up a busy and unpleasant week for Trump, particularly when it comes to healthcare and transgender rights, plus there’s a little Iron & Wine to close. More

Listen: The Mountain Goats - “Rain in Soho”

Goths Due Out May 19 via Merge

Apr 25, 2017

The Mountain Goats are releasing a new album, Goths, on May 19 via Merge. The band previously shared the album’s first single, “Andrew Eldritch Is Moving Back to Leeds.” Now here’s another song from the album, the dramatic opening track “Rain in Soho.” More

The Mountain Goats Share New Song, “Etruscans,” for “Our First 100 Days” Anti-Trump Project

"Our First 100 Days" Will Include a New Song Every Day for the First 100 Days of Donald Trump's Presidency

Mar 31, 2017

“Our First 100 Days” is an anti-President Donald Trump project. The good folks behind the “30 Days, 30 Songs” anti-Trump campaign during the election have teamed up with Secretly Group for “Our First 100 Days.” More

Feb 22, 2017

The Mountain Goats have announced a new album, Goths, and shared its first single, “Andrew Eldritch Is Moving Back to Leeds.” Goths is due out May 19 via Merge. More

New Anti-Donald Trump Compilation Features Angel Olsen, Jens Lekman, Toro Y Moi, Mitski, and More

"Our First 100 Days" Will Include a New Song Every Day for the First 100 Days of Trump's Presidency

Jan 13, 2017

During the election many indie rock musicians released anti-Donald Trump songs and likely assumed, like many liberals and Hillary Clinton supporters did, that Trump didn’t have a strong chance of winning. More

Listen: The Mountain Goats - “Summer” (War Cover)

As Part of Amazon's Songs of the Summer Playlist

May 04, 2016

The Mountain Goats have shared a cover of War’s “Summer.” The cover is part of Amazon’s Songs of the Summer playlist, which will be available June 3 and will also feature new songs or covers by Baio (listen to his new song for the playlist, “Don’t Fight Fate,” here), Laura Gibson, Surfer Blood, Blitzen Trapper, and more. More

Aug 05, 2015

The Mountain Goats’ John Darnielle recently announced a brief “All Roads Lead to Lincoln” solo mini-tour to go down this September. Now he has announced a full band Mountain Goats U.S. tour to happen this October. More

Jul 14, 2015

The Mountain Goats’ John Darnielle has announced a brief “All Roads Lead to Lincoln” solo mini-tour to go down this September. It’s in support of the band’s recent wrestling themed album, Beat the Champ. More

May 20, 2015

The Mountain Goats’ new album, Beat the Champ, is John Darnielle’s ode to professional wrestling, so it makes sense that the video for “The Legend of Chavo Guerrero” would be wrestling-themed. But it goes beyond that, it features wrestler Chavo Guerrero himself. More

Watch: The Mountain Goats on “Late Night”

Perform "Foreign Object" and “Pigs That Ran Straightaway Into the Water, Triumph Of”

Apr 07, 2015

Last night, promoting the release of their brand new LP Beat the Champ, The Mountain Goats were welcomed as the musical guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers. More

Mar 31, 2015

Next week The Mountain Goats will release their fifteenth studio album Beat the Champ. More

Listen: The Mountain Goats - “Heel Turn 2”

New Album, Beat The Champ Out This April

Mar 02, 2015

The Mountain Goats have shared a brand new track from their upcoming album Beat the Champ. More

Watch: Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon Covers Johnny Cash with Megafaun

The Mountain Goats' John Darnielle Covers Grateful Dead

May 02, 2014

Earlier this week North Carolina psych-folk outfit Megafaun performed a hometown gig in Durham at The Pinhook. More

The Mountain Goats Announce Tour Dates as a Duo

The Mountain Goats Twin Inhuman Highway Fiends Tour 2014

Apr 02, 2014

John Darnielle and Peter Hughes of The Moutnain Goats are embarking on a two person tour that they’re calling “The Mountain Goats Twin Inhuman Highway Fiends Tour 2014.” More

Listen: The Mountain Goats - ““You & Me & A High Balcony”

Non-Album Track From 2004's We Shall All Be Healed

Jul 19, 2013

John Darnielle, musical mastermind behind The Mountain Goats, has unearthed a non-album track from 2004’s We Shall All Be Healed titled “You & Me & A High Balcony.” More

The Mountain Goats Announce Tour

Featuring "Alternate Configurations"

Apr 09, 2013

Releasing their most recent album Transcendental Youth last year, The Mountain Goats have announced plans for a new tour starting in June. More

Oct 09, 2012

The music video for The Mountain GoatsTranscendental Youth single “Cry for Judas” has an amalgamation of parts. More

Stream Mountain Goats’ “Transcendental Youth”

Announce Second Leg of U.S. Tour

Sep 24, 2012

Poised to release their latest album Transcendental Youth next week The Mountain Goats have made the entire album available to stream online. More

CMJ Music Marathon 2012 Announces Initial Lineup

The Walkmen, The Mountain Goats, Opossom, GZA, DIIV, Dent May, Foxygen, The Love Language, Com Truise, and more

Aug 22, 2012

The CMJ Music Marathon 2012 has just released the initial line up for its October 16-20 run in New York City. Artists include The Walkmen, The Mountain Goats, The Love Language, Dent May, Kimbra, GZA, OFF!, Foxygen, Opossom, The Stepkids, Arthur Beatrice, Com Truise, DIIV, Exitmusic, Electric Guest, Prince Rama, The Presets, and more. More

The Mountain Goats Announce Tour

New Album Transcendental Youth Out Oct. 2

Jul 31, 2012

Recently announcing the release of their new album Transcendental Youth, and providing fans with the first taste of its material with “Cry for Judas,” The Mountain Goats have revealed that they will begin a new tour this fall starting this September. More

Listen: The Mountain Goats - “Cry For Judas”

New Album Transcendental Youth Out Oct. 2

Jul 25, 2012

John Darnielle and The Mountain Goats will soon release their latest album Transcendental Youth on Oct. 2. More

The Mountain Goats Announce New Album

Transcendental Youth Out Oct. 2

Jul 09, 2012

The Mountain Goats have announced that they will release their 14th studio album Transcendental Youth on Oct. 2 via Merge. More

Mar 29, 2012

As they promised they would, The Mountain Goats and Owen Pallett performed a number of new songs at the Ecstatic Music Festival earlier this week at the Merkin Concert Hall in Manhattan, joined by classical vocal quartet Anonymous 4. More

Feb 07, 2012

Continuing their celebration of Leonard Cohen’s latest LP Old Ideas, Columbia Records have offered up another entry to their Old Ideas with New Friends video series. More

The Mountain Goats Announce 2012 Tour Dates

From December to Eternity…er, April

Nov 29, 2011

The Mountain Goats are hitting the road in 2012 behind this year’s album All Eternals Deck. We have the dates. More

The Mountain Goats and Owen Pallett Collaborate on New Material for Ecstatic Music Festival

John Darnielle Will Perform a Special Set at the Festival on March 24

Nov 17, 2011

The Mountain Goats frontman, John Darnielle will perform new songs from Transcendental Youth with vocal group Anonymous 4 at Ecstatic Music Festival on March 24. The songs were arranged by Owen Pallett. More

Watch: The Mountain Goats – “Estate Sale Sign” Video

Animated Video Tells of an Adventuresome Tale

Jul 27, 2011

The Mountain Goats have released a video for “Estate Sale Sign,” off of their March release via Merge, All Eternals Deck. More

The Mountain Goats Hit the Road

Dates Kick Off June 14

Apr 27, 2011

In support of recently released album All Eternals Tape Deck, The Mountain Goats are hitting the road. We have the dates. More

NPR Streams New Mountain Goats Record

'All Eternals Deck' Drops March 29

Feb 28, 2011

Whether you want to listen to All Eternals Deck in its entirety or track-by-track, NPR will share the album until its official release March 29. More

The Mountain Goats Announce Tour Dates

All Eternals Tape Deck Out 3/29

Jan 19, 2011

The Mountain Goats are taking to the road in support of upcoming album, All Eternals Tape Deck (out March 29 via Merge). We have the dates. More

Dec 14, 2010

After hitting his 5,000 Twitter followers mark yesterday, Mountain Goats frontman John Darnielle tweeted an exclusive audio download. We have the link. More

Dec 09, 2010

On March 29, The Mountain Goats will release their newest studio album All Eternals Deck via Merge. More

The Mountain Goats Go Biblical On Seventeenth Album

The Life of the World to Come Arrives October 6th

Jul 28, 2009

According to a news post from leader John Darnielle, the new Mountain Goats LP is titled The Life of the World to Come and it’s dropping on our doorsteps October 6th on the oh-so-dreamy 4AD. We already posted the first MP3 (“Genesis 3:23”) from the LP here but here’s the skinny on the rest. More



Interviews

Mar 01, 2021

Like one of the offbeat characters in his novelistic songs, John Darnielle was stopped dead in his tracks in a trinket shop by a matchbox sized notebook emblazoned with a moniker that didn’t suit him: “Rodeo Queen.” More

My Favorite Album: John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats on Mercyful Fate’s “Don’t Break the Oath”

"I realized that Don't Break the Oath features the greatest guitar riffs in the whole history of music."

Mar 03, 2020

I was living in Portland in ‘85-‘86, and I wouldn’t say I was an apprentice speed freak, because I wasn’t on speed all of the time, but I was quite often taking really hard speed-crystal meth. More


Reviews

May 14, 2019

Following 2017’s rightly lauded Goths, John Darnielle and his band The Mountain Goats return with a new LP, produced by the always magnificent Owen Pallett, and, to some unknown extent, telling the tale of a seaside community ruled over by a kindly wizard. More

Universal Harvester

John Darnielle

Mar 27, 2017

John Darnielle’s second book is a haunting story that will get under your skin. More

Apr 08, 2015

North Carolina-based singer/songwriter John Darnielle has been busy since The Mountain Goats’ last album, Transcendental Youth, was released in 2012. In addition to raising two young sons, Darnielle found the time to write his first novel, Wolf in White Van, which was nominated for the 2014 National Book Award in fiction. More

Oct 08, 2012

Mountain Goats frontman John Darnielle has a new baby, but that hasn’t softened his love for dark subject matter. (“Please,” he wrote on his website in July. “May the baby grow up to spit in my face if I should pose that hard.”) Transcendental Youth, despite its frequent use of a punchy horn section, is bleak, even by Darnielle’s standards. It’s also one of the band’s best. More

Mar 29, 2011

John Darnielle has always been at his best when working within the confines of a theme. Whether spinning tales of doomed romance or stories inspired by biblical verses, the device of focus has always effectively harnessed his strengths, creating powerfully cohesive statements out of disparate vignettes and character studies. Fleshing out his already superlative songwriting with the most sympathetic band he’s ever worked with (Peter Hughes on bass and Jon Wurster on drums), The Mountain Goats have hit something of a second stride in the past few years. More