''Jenny from Thebes'' is the 22nd studio album by indie folk band the Mountain Goats, released on October 27, 2023, through

Merge Records Merge Records is an independent record label based in Durham, North Carolina. It was founded in 1989 by Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan. It began as an outlet for music from their band Superchunk and music created by friends, and has expande ...

. The album serves as a sequel to the band's 2002 release ''

All Hail West Texas ''All Hail West Texas'' is the sixth studio album by the Mountain Goats. After the slight increase in production values on ''The Coroner's Gambit'' album of 2000, ''All Hail West Texas'' was the last Mountain Goats album recorded entirely on Joh ...

'', and is structured as a

rock opera A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been ad ...

which tells the story of the character "Jenny" (from the band's previous albums, including ''All Hail West Texas'', along with 2001's ''Jam Eater Blues'' and 2012's '' Transcendental Youth''). Lyricist

John Darnielle John Darnielle (; born March 16, 1967) is an American musician and novelist best known as the primary, and originally sole, member of the American band the Mountain Goats, for which he is the writer, composer, guitarist, pianist, and vocalist. ...

describes the album as being about "the individual and society", and about Jenny's "southwestern ranch style house, the people for whom that house is a place of safety, and the west Texas town that is uncomfortable with its existence." The album was recorded between January 16–22, 2023 at

The Church Studio The Church Studio is a recording studio in Tulsa, Oklahoma established in 1972 by musician, songwriter, and producer Leon Russell. Located in a converted church building, the studio has since been cited as being the heart of the Tulsa Sound. H ...

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

and features performances by Darnielle, Alicia Bognanno, Matt Douglas, Peter Hughes,

Jon Wurster Jonathan Patrick Wurster (born October 31, 1966) is an American drummer and comedy writer. As a musician, he is best known for his work with Superchunk, the Mountain Goats, and Bob Mould. He is also known for appearing on '' The Best Show'' wit ...

Matt Nathanson Matthew Adam Nathanson (born March 28, 1973) is an American singer-songwriter whose work is a blend of folk and rock and roll music. In addition to singing, he plays acoustic (sometimes a 12-string) and electric guitar, and has played both sol ...

, and

Kathy Valentine Kathryn Valentine (born January 7, 1959) is an American musician who is the bassist for the pop punk band the Go-Go's. She has maintained a career in music through songwriting, recording, performing and touring as well as additional academic and ...

. The album was preceded by the lead single "Clean Slate", followed by the singles "Fresh Tattoo" and "Murder at the 18th Street Garage".

Critical reception

''Jenny from Thebes'' received a score of 80 out of 100 on review aggregator

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

based on seven critics' reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. ''

Uncut Uncut may refer to: * ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship * ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997 * '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...

'' stated that "familiarity with the back-story is not necessary to enjoy this potted indie-rock opera: as always with Darnielle's work, an appreciation of droll storytelling and deadpan melodies will do". Reviewing the album for '' Exclaim!'', Eric Hill felt that it "manages to truly distill the manic energy of the Mountain Goats' formative phase into a maturing yet vital shape, giving it a place in the upper reaches of their pantheon". '' Paste'' named it album of the week, with the reviewer Laura Dzubay writing that "while ''Jenny from Thebes'' feels big compared to the Mountain Goats' stripped-down albums, there's restraint on these songs, and the rock-opera approach never feels garish", calling it "a fitting new record" from the band. John Amen of '' No Depression'' wrote, "''Jenny From Thebes'' spotlights The Mountain Goats as they explore various sonic balances, Darnielle exercising his narrative and impressionistic bents." He concluded by describing the album as "a largely engaging, if occasionally 'lite,' set."

Track listing

Personnel

The Mountain Goats * Alicia Bognanno – performance *

– performance * Matt Douglas – performance, string and horn arrangements * Peter Hughes – performance *

– performance Additional contributors * Trina Shoemaker –

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

, mixing, recording * Brent Lambert – mastering * Isaiah Page – engineering assistance * Cade Roberts – engineering assistance *

– additional instrumentation *

– additional instrumentation * Karen Galvin – strings * Evan Ringel – trombone * Daniel Murphy – design * Jenny – narration on "Cleaning Crew"

Charts

References

2023 albums The Mountain Goats albums {{2020s-album-stub