the Mountain Goats

It must have been a foggy, overcast San Francisco day, 25 years ago, when Mark Eitzel formed American Music Club with guitarist Vudi. What else could explain the perpetual cloud that has hung over the band? Sure, one could chalk it up to the self-destructive tendencies of Eitzel, who writes the songs and sings lead, but that wouldn't suit AMC, whose ouevre includes its fair share of allegories. Maybe it was because they never met a genre they didn't like—rock, punk, folk, country, jazz, etc. Or it could just be that this band has always been destined to be successful amongst critics and Europeans (a la Kraftwerk).  read more »

As this decade wanes, some of the chaos in the world of music seems to be settling, as those looking for new sounds grow tired of bottomless discovery. It’s exhausting, really, this omnivorous accumulation of songs. How many albums have been downloaded only to languish somewhere in the catacombs of sprawling hard drives? Yet everything hasn’t devolved into ringtones and novelty singles. The furious dismantling of the pillars of corporate greed (so long, $18.99 CD!) hasn’t hurt enduring grass-roots indie musicians like John Darnielle, who records under the moniker the Mountain Goats. In fact Darnielle’s work, idiosyncratic and acquired-taste though it may be, is more popular than ever, and his latest, perhaps most welcoming album sees him poised to break through to even more new listeners. It’s notable, especially given that he’s been making his music for more than 17 years.  read more »