(Merge Records, cassette, CD, digital, vinyl)
One of indie rock’s masters offers up his most eloquent and cinematic work to date with the release of Jenny From Thebes. The 22nd and newest album from the Mountain Goats prospers on John Darnielle’s songwriting wisdom and hears his band thriving across a fresh collection of thematic compositions.
The seasoned and intellectual Darnielle has been making albums under this moniker for more than 30 years, as it has evolved from his DIY tape-recording project to one of the most respected literary vehicles in live and recorded music.
He’s still the band’s guitar and piano player and, of course, its songwriter — as well as the successful author of three novels. Many of the characters who populate his songs have come and gone. But on the newest Mountain Goats release, a captivating figure named Jenny returns to center stage for an emotional “rock opera” that was written as a sequel to the album on which she first appeared, 2002’s acclaimed All Hail West Texas.
Released in late October on Merge Records, Jenny From Thebes plays out as an epic across 12 songs, a thoroughly composed inspection of self and community and the perils of running from one’s own problems while helping others overcome their own. It follows Jenny as she opens her ranch house as a haven for those seeking safety, much to the dismay of some in her West Texas town. A saga of sacrifice for the greater good, the album effuses admiration for selfless generosity, even if such kindness turns out to be problematic.
Tormented by something or someone that remains obscure to the listener, Jenny edges toward calamity in this ambitious dramatization, which represents a marked change of course from the attack and reprisal of the Mountain Goats’ 2022 album Bleed Out. Embellished by Darnielle’s impassioned lyricism, these tracks grant sanctuary and approach reconciliation through onward-and-upward melodies and savory jams from a talented group with an opulent sound.
The glistening opener “Clean Slate” and the sly “Ground Level” showcase the Mountain Goats in various styles early in the album. Featuring bassist Peter Hughes, drummer Jon Wurster and multi-instrumentalist Matt Douglas, who’s responsible for the essential horn and string arrangements, the record is bolstered by contributions from guitarist Alicia Bognanno (Bully) and vocals from Matt Nathanson and Kathy Valentine.
Even as Jenny From Thebes shows the Mountain Goats expanding their sound in jazzed-up pieces such as “Cleaning Crew” and the bustling “Murder at the 18th St. Garage,” the album clearly highlights Darnielle’s proclivity for vivid storytelling.
On “From the Nebraska Plant,” for example, he foretells Jenny’s brutal fate, describing her custom Kawasaki sport bike as “somewhere in the wreck yard now” and a “flak jacket full of holes, Kevlar-coated and dusty black.” On “Same as Cash,” he amplifies his voice at a critical juncture as Jenny breaks down and trades her sedan for the Kawasaki: “Two fingers to the temporal vein / In your car with your head in your hands / at the far end of the Walmart parking lot / trying not to buckle under the strain.”
The story’s arc culminates with “Jenny III,” a sobering piece in which a close observer shares their take on Jenny’s inevitable escape. On the next track, “Going to Dallas,” she bids farewell on her sport bike before finding deserved reprieve in the drifting, groovy “Great Pirates.”
Perhaps the most defined recent project from Darnielle, an artist who in his early days relished spontaneous boom box recordings, Jenny From Thebes triumphs as a lasting presentation by this visionary bandleader and his skilled associates.
Jenny From Thebes is available on all major streaming platforms and can be purchased on vinyl, CD and tape at mergerecords.com. The Mountain Goats play a sold-out show at the Higher Ground Ballroom in South Burlington on Tuesday, December 5.
This article appears in Nov 29 – Dec 5, 2023.
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