The Mountain Goats are an American band formed in

Claremont, California Claremont () is a suburban city on the eastern edge of Los Angeles County, California, United States, east of downtown Los Angeles. It is in the Pomona Valley, at the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. As of the 2010 census it had a popul ...

, by singer-songwriter

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. ...

. The band is currently based in

Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...

. For many years, the sole member of the Mountain Goats was Darnielle, despite the plural moniker. Although he remains the core member of the band, he has worked with a variety of collaborators over time, including bassist and vocalist Peter Hughes, drummer

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'' with ...

, multi-instrumentalist Matt Douglas, singer-songwriter

Franklin Bruno Franklin Bruno (born December 29, 1968) is an American singer-songwriter, academic and writer originally from Upland, California. He has been a member of Nothing Painted Blue since its inception in 1986. Bruno has written music criticism for o ...

, bassist and vocalist Rachel Ware, singer-songwriter/ producer

John Vanderslice John Vanderslice (born May 22, 1967 in Gainesville, Florida) is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and recording engineer. He is the owner and founder of Tiny Telephone, an analog recording studio with locations in San Francisco M ...

, guitarist

Kaki King Kaki King (born Katherine Elizabeth King, August 24, 1979) is an American guitarist and composer. King is known for her percussive and jazz-tinged melodies, energetic live shows, use of multiple tunings on acoustic and lap steel guitar, and he ...

, and multi-instrumentalist Annie Clark. Throughout the 1990s, the Mountain Goats were known for producing low-fidelity

home recording Home recording is the practice of recording sound in a private home instead of a professional recording studio. A studio set up for home recording is called a home studio or project studio. Home recording is widely practiced by voice actors, narrat ...

s (most notably, on a

cassette deck A cassette deck is a type of tape machine for playing and recording audio cassettes that does not have a built-in power amplifier or speakers, and serves primarily as a transport. It can be a part of an automotive entertainment system, a part of a ...

boombox A boombox is a transistorized portable music player featuring one or two cassette tape recorder/players and AM/FM radio, generally with a carrying handle. Beginning in the mid 1980s, a CD player was often included. Sound is delivered through ...

) and releasing recordings in

cassette Cassette may refer to: Technology * Cassette tape (or ''musicassette'', ''audio cassette'', ''cassette tape'', or ''tape''), a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback ** Cassette single (or "Cassingle"), a music single in the ...

or vinyl 7-inch formats. Since 2002, the Mountain Goats have adopted a more polished approach, often recording studio albums with a full band.

History

Early years

The band's name is a reference to the

Screamin' Jay Hawkins Jalacy J. "Screamin' Jay" Hawkins (July 18, 1929 – February 12, 2000) was an American singer-songwriter, musician, actor, film producer, and boxer. Famed chiefly for his powerful, operatic vocal delivery and wildly theatrical performances of s ...

song "Yellow Coat". Darnielle released his first recording as the Mountain Goats ('' Taboo VI: The Homecoming'', on

Shrimper Records Shrimper Records is an independent record label based in Upland, California. It was founded in 1990 by Dennis Callaci. Roster * Ah Bus * Amps for Christ * The Aum Rifle * Azuza Plane * The Babies * Lou Barlow * Bingo Trappers * Franklin B ...

) in 1991. Many of his first recordings and performances featured Darnielle accompanied by members of the all-girl reggae band the Casual Girls, who became known as the Bright Mountain Choir. One of this group's members, Rachel Ware, continued to accompany Darnielle on bass, both live and in studio, until 1995. The first five years of the Mountain Goats' career saw a prolific output of songs on cassette, vinyl and CD. These releases spanned multiple labels and countries of origin, often released in limited numbers. The focus of the Mountain Goats project was the urgency of writing. Songs not recorded adequately to tape within days of being written were often forgotten. Cassette releases during this time include ''The Hound Chronicles'', ''Transmissions to Horace'', ''Hot Garden Stomp'', ''Taking the Dative'', and ''Yam, the King of Crops''. In 1994, the Mountain Goats released their first full-length

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, ''

Zopilote Machine ''Zopilote Machine'' is the debut studio album by the Mountain Goats. ("Zopilote" is Spanish for buzzard.) It is the only full album to include the entirety of The Bright Mountain Choir. Track listing Release history Personnel John Darnielle ...

'', on

Ajax Records Ajax Records was a record company and label founded in 1921. Jazz and blues records were produced in New York City, with some in Montreal, and marketed via the Ajax Record Company of Chicago. History Ajax was a subsidiary of the Compo Company of ...

. It is the band's only full album featuring the entirety of the Bright Mountain Choir.

1995–2000: ''Sweden'', ''Nothing for Juice'', ''Full Force Galesburg'', and ''The Coroner's Gambit''

By 1995, most of what could be considered classic Mountain Goats conventions (boom-box recording, song series, Latin quotes, and mythological themes) were abandoned in favor of a more thematically focused and experimental sound. This period was marked by Darnielle's collaborations with other artists including Alastair Galbraith and

Simon Joyner Simon Joyner (born 1971) is an American singer-songwriter from Omaha, Nebraska. He has influenced the music of Bright Eyes, Kevin Morby and Gillian Welch. In the early 1990s, Beck listed Joyner in his top 10 albums when asked by ''Rolling St ...

. In November 1996, Darnielle announced a vow to "clear his musical tendency for profanity" to promote a more optimistic reception to the ideas outlined in his material. In 1995, the album ''

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

'' was released. Soon after its recording, a sequel titled ''

Hail and Farewell, Gothenburg The Mountain Goats are an American band formed in Claremont, California, by singer-songwriter John Darnielle. The band is currently based in Durham, North Carolina. For many years, the sole member of the Mountain Goats was Darnielle, despite the ...

'' was recorded, but never released. It remained unheard by the general public until 2007, when it was leaked against Darnielle's wishes. In 1996, the Mountain Goats released the album '' Nothing for Juice'', and '' Full Force Galesburg'' the following year. Rachel Ware left the band between recording the two albums, and bassist Peter Hughes took over her position. Between 1998 and 2000, the Mountain Goats slowed down their prolific output, releasing '' The Coroner's Gambit'' in October 2000. The album partially returned to the band's roots, as most songs were sporadically recorded on Darnielle's old

Panasonic formerly between 1935 and 2008 and the first incarnation of between 2008 and 2022, is a major Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka, Kadoma, Osaka P ...

RX-FT500

Boombox A boombox is a transistorized portable music player featuring one or two cassette tape recorder/players and AM/FM radio, generally with a carrying handle. Beginning in the mid 1980s, a CD player was often included. Sound is delivered through ...

, which produced a loud background noise to the songs.

2001–2003: ''All Hail West Texas'' and ''Tallahassee''

2002 saw the release of two Mountain Goats albums: ''

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 ''

Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the population ...

''. These albums mark a distinct change in focus for the Mountain Goats project, being the first in a series of concept albums that explore aspects of The Mountain Goats' canon in depth. ''All Hail West Texas'' featured the resurrection of Darnielle's early boom box recording for a complete album. Darnielle considers this album to be the culmination of his lo-fi recording style. ''Tallahassee'', the first Mountain Goats album to be recorded with a full band and in a studio, explores and concludes the relationship of a couple whose lives were the subject of the song cycle known as the Alpha Series. It was the first album to be released on a major label, marking the start of the 4AD years of the band. Also released that year was ''

Martial Arts Weekend ''Martial Arts Weekend'' is an album by indie-rock band The Extra Glenns, a band made up John Darnielle and Franklin Bruno. The album was released in 2002. Critical reception ''Pitchfork'' wrote that "after the initial novelty of hearing more ...

'', attributed to

The Extra Glenns The Extra Lens, formerly known as The Extra Glenns, is a band made up of Franklin Bruno (of Nothing Painted Blue and The Human Hearts) and John Darnielle (of the Mountain Goats). The band acts as a side project for both artists, and stayed un ...

, a collaboration with

on several previously unreleased Mountain Goats songs. Following that recording, Bruno joined Darnielle in the studio along with bassist Peter Hughes, who is the second official member of the band and accompanies Darnielle on tour. These three musicians formed what was considered the Mountain Goats studio band.

2004–2009: 4AD years

In 2004, the Mountain Goats released ''

We Shall All Be Healed ''We Shall All Be Healed'' is the eighth studio album by The Mountain Goats. The album focuses on semi-fictional accounts of band leader John Darnielle's years as a teenager, particularly his friends' and acquaintances' experiences in California a ...

''. The album marked a number of changes for the Mountain Goats, as it was the first time Darnielle worked with producer

, and the first album of directly autobiographical material. ''We Shall All Be Healed'' chronicles Darnielle's life with a group of friends and acquaintances addicted to

methamphetamine Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity. Methamph ...

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, though the album is set in

Pomona, California Pomona is a city in Los Angeles County, California. Pomona is located in the Pomona Valley, between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 151,713. The main campus of California State Polyte ...

. The following year, the band's second Vanderslice-produced album, ''

The Sunset Tree ''The Sunset Tree'' is the ninth studio album by the Mountain Goats, released on April 26, 2005 by 4AD. The album's songs revolve around the house John Darnielle grew up in and the people who lived there, including his mother, sister, stepfather, ...

'', was released. Again autobiographical, Darnielle tackled the subject of his early childhood spent with an abusive stepfather. Darnielle had previously dealt with this subject in what he often refers to as the only "extensively autobiographical" song he had written before 2004, the 1999 unreleased song "You're in Maya". The Mountain Goats relocated to

in 2006, and issued '' Get Lonely'', which was produced by

Scott Solter Scott Solter is an American recording engineer, record producer, mixer, remixer and musician. As a producer and mixer, Solter has worked with numerous indie rock artists, including Maps & Atlases, St. Vincent, Spoon, Sarah Jaffe, Becca Stevens ...

, who had worked with Vanderslice on engineering for prior Mountain Goats records.

joined the group in 2007, playing drums on the last leg of the ''Get Lonely'' tour. The band recorded tracks for its next album at Prairie Sun studios. Entitled '' Heretic Pride'', the album was released on 19 February 2008. Produced by John Vanderslice and Scott Solter, the album saw Darnielle, Hughes, and Wurster joined by Franklin Bruno, Erik Friedlander, Annie Clark (better known by her stage name, St. Vincent), and members of The Bright Mountain Choir. American

alternative hip hop Alternative hip hop (also known as alternative rap) is a subgenre of hip hop music that encompasses a wide range of styles that are not typically identified as mainstream. AllMusic defines it as comprising " hip hop groups that refuse to confor ...

artist

Aesop Rock Ian Matthias Bavitz (born June 5, 1976), better known by his stage name Aesop Rock, is an American rapper and producer from Long Island, New York. He was at the forefront of the new wave of underground and alternative hip hop acts that emerge ...

released a remix of the track " Lovecraft in Brooklyn" from the album, and in return Darnielle contributed vocals to his album ''

None Shall Pass ''None Shall Pass'' is the fifth studio album by American hip hop artist Aesop Rock. It was released on Definitive Jux on August 28, 2007. Music The album features production by Blockhead, El-P, Rob Sonic, and Aesop Rock himself. Guest appeara ...

'', in the song "Coffee". In 2009, Darnielle and Vanderslice collaborated on the record '' Moon Colony Bloodbath''. Released in a limited vinyl run of 1000 and sold during their "Gone Primitive" tour, the EP was a concept record about

organ harvesting Organ procurement (also called organ harvesting) is a surgical procedure that removes organs or tissues for reuse, typically for organ transplantation. Procedures If the organ donor is human, most countries require that the donor be legally de ...

colonies on the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

. This was followed by the next full Mountain Goats album, ''

The Life of the World to Come ''The Life of the World to Come'' (2004) is a science fiction novel by American writer Kage Baker, the fifth installment in the time travel series concerning the exploits of The Company. Plot introduction This novel is another chapter in the di ...

'', which released in October of the same year. The album is composed of twelve tracks, each one inspired by (and titled after) a single verse of the Christian

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

. In publicizing the record, the band made their first ever television appearance, performing "Psalms 40:2" on ''

The Colbert Report ''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December 18, 2014, for 1,447 episodes. The show focuse ...

'', hosted by professed Mountain Goats fan

Stephen Colbert Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program ''The Colbert Report'' from 2005 to ...

2010–present: Merge Records years

John_Darnielle_The_Mountain_Goats_HOH_Fest_2010

The Mountain Goats signed to

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 ...

, home to drummer Jon Wurster's other band,

Superchunk Superchunk is an American indie rock band from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States, consisting of singer-guitarist Mac McCaughan, guitarist Jim Wilbur, bassist Laura Ballance, and drummer Jon Wurster. Formed in 1989, they were one of the ...

, in 2010. The label issued a new record by

The Extra Lens The Extra Lens, formerly known as The Extra Glenns, is a band made up of Franklin Bruno (of Nothing Painted Blue and The Human Hearts) and John Darnielle (of the Mountain Goats). The band acts as a side project for both artists, and stayed und ...

, formerly The Extra Glenns, entitled ''

Undercard In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...

'', followed by another Mountain Goats LP, '' All Eternals Deck'', in 2011. They were also chosen by

Jeff Mangum Jeff Mangum (born 24 October 1970) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who gained prominence as the founder, songwriter, vocalist and guitarist of Neutral Milk Hotel, as well for his co-founding of The Elephant 6 Recording Company. Ma ...

Neutral Milk Hotel Neutral Milk Hotel was an American band formed in Ruston, Louisiana, by musician Jeff Mangum. They were active from 1989 to 1998, and again from 2013 to 2015. The band's music featured a deliberately low-quality sound, influenced by indie rock ...

to perform at the

All Tomorrow's Parties "All Tomorrow's Parties" is a song by the Velvet Underground and Nico, written by Lou Reed and released on the group's 1967 debut studio album, ''The Velvet Underground & Nico''. Inspiration for the song came from Reed's observation of Andy Warh ...

festival that he was due to curate in December 2011 in Minehead, England, but were unable to appear due to a rescheduling. The band's fourteenth studio album, '' Transcendental Youth'', was released in late 2012, and in early 2013 they played at Carnegie Hall in support of

John Green John Michael Green (born August 24, 1977) is an American author, YouTube Content creation, content creator, podcaster, and philanthropist. His books have more than 50 million copies in print worldwide, including ''The Fault in Our Stars'' ( ...

and

Hank Green William Henry Green II (born May 5, 1980) is an American vlogger, science communicator, entrepreneur, author, internet producer, and musician. He is known for producing the YouTube channel Vlogbrothers with his older brother, author John Green ...

in their "Evening of Awesome" performance. In July 2013, ''

'' was re-released on vinyl. During an interview with

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several award ...

in August 2012, John Darnielle said that

Amy Grant Amy Lee Grant (born November 25, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She began in contemporary Christian music (CCM) before crossing over to pop music in the 1980s and 1990s. She has been referred to as "The Queen of Christia ...

was his favorite pop artist, and noted that "

Rich Mullins Richard Wayne Mullins (October 21, 1955 – September 19, 1997) was an American contemporary Christian music singer and songwriter best known for his worship songs " Awesome God" and "Sometimes by Step". Some of his albums were listed by ''CC ...

is one of the best songwriters I know of." Mullins was the songwriter who penned many of Grant's hits. The Mountain Goats released their 15th album, ''

Beat the Champ ''Beat the Champ'' is the fifteenth studio album by The Mountain Goats, released on April 7, 2015 on Merge Records. The release is a concept album on professional wrestling, though frontman John Darnielle has stated that several of its songs are " ...

'', on 7 April 2015, again with

. According to

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

, the album concentrates on the

professional wrestlers Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

Darnielle admired when he was a child and tries to develop and imagine their lives. Multi-instrumentalist Matt Douglas assisted the group in recording the album, and soon thereafter became a full-time member. In January 2017, the Mountain Goats recorded a humorous song per request of director

Rian Johnson Rian Craig Johnson (born December 17, 1973) is an American filmmaker. He made his directorial debut with the neo-noir mystery film ''Brick'' (2005), which received positive reviews and grossed nearly $4 million on a $450,000 budget. Transition ...

, depicting an alternate story of his upcoming movie, '' Star Wars: The Last Jedi''. The song, titled "The Ultimate Jedi Who Wastes All the Other Jedi and Eats Their Bones", was published on Johnson's

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...

page. In May 2017, they released their sixteenth studio album, ''

Goths The Goths ( got, 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰, translit=''Gutþiuda''; la, Gothi, grc-gre, Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe ...

''. The band has stated that ''Goths'' was inspired by an adolescence listening to

The Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith has re ...

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 200 ...

Siouxsie and the Banshees Siouxsie and the Banshees were a British rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. They have been widely influential, both over their contemporaries and with later acts. ''Q'' magazine in ...

, and

Joy Division Joy Division were an English rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist Ian Curtis, guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris. Sumner and Hook formed the band after attend ...

, as well as hearing songs on the Californian radio station

KROQ-FM KROQ-FM (106.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Pasadena, California, serving Greater Los Angeles. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it broadcasts an alternative rock format known as "The World Famous KROQ" (pronounced "kay-rock"). The stat ...

. In January 2019, the band announced the April 26 release of their ''

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical Studies Rules ...

'' inspired album, '' In League with Dragons'' (and released initial single, "Younger"), via Merge Records. The announcement was accompanied by a live music stream from the

Wizards of the Coast Wizards of the Coast LLC (often referred to as WotC or simply Wizards) is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and List of science fiction themes, science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for ga ...

headquarters. In March 2020, while the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

left the band unable to tour, Darnielle retrieved his old Panasonic RX-FT500 tape deck and recorded 10 new songs, using the direct-to-boombox method for the first time since 2002's ''All Hail West Texas''. The resulting album, entitled ''

Songs for Pierre Chuvin ''Songs for Pierre Chuvin'' is the eighteenth studio album by the Mountain Goats, released on April 10, 2020. It is the first album since 2002's ''All Hail West Texas'' to feature only the band's frontman, John Darnielle, as well as the first sinc ...

'', was inspired by Darnielle's reading of

Pierre Chuvin Pierre Chuvin (18 July 1943 – 26 December 2016) was a French hellenist and historian. He was specialized on ancient Greece and Greek mythology, as well as modern Central Asia and the Turkic-speaking world. Biography He studied at the Universit ...

's 1990 book ''A Chronicle of the Last Pagans'', and was released digitally on April 10, 2020, with a limited physical release on cassette through Merge Records. The Mountain Goats announced in August 2020 that the band's nineteenth studio album, ''

Getting Into Knives ''Getting Into Knives'' is the nineteenth studio album by indie folk band the Mountain Goats, released on October 23, 2020, through Merge Records. The album was recorded in March 2020 over six days at Sam Philips Recording in Memphis, in the ...

'', would be released on October 23, 2020, on CD, vinyl, cassette, and digital. In April 2021, the Mountain Goats announced their album '' Dark in Here'', released on June 25, alongside the release of its first single "Mobile". The album was recorded at

FAME Studios FAME (Florence Alabama Music Enterprises) Studios is a recording studio located at 603 East Avalon Avenue in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, an area of northern Alabama known as the Shoals. Though small and distant from the main recording locations of the ...

Members

– vocals, guitar, keyboard * Peter Hughes – bass, backing vocals *

– drums * Matt Douglas – flute, saxophone, clarinet, guitar, keyboard, backing vocals

Former members and collaborators

* Rachel Ware – bass, vocals (1992–1995) * The Bright Mountain Choir (Rachel Ware, Amy Piatt, Sarah Arslanian, Roseanne Lindley) * The North Mass Mountain Choir *

– piano * Lalitree Darnielle – banjo * Alastair Galbraith – violin * Graeme Jefferies – guitar *

Erik Friedlander Erik Friedlander is an American cellist and composer based in New York City. A veteran of New York City's experimental downtown scene, Friedlander has worked in many contexts, but is perhaps best known for his frequent collaborations with sax ...

– cello *

Owen Pallett Michael James Owen Pallett (born September 7, 1979) is a Canadian composer, violinist, keyboardist, and vocalist. Under their erstwhile moniker of Final Fantasy, Pallett won the 2006 Polaris Music Prize for the album ''He Poos Clouds''. Pallet ...

– strings *

* Alex Decarville *

Richard Colburn Richard Colburn (born 25 July 1970) is the drummer of the Scottish indie band Belle & Sebastian. Before he joined Belle & Sebastian, he used to sell pies on match days outside Celtic Park and studied Music Business at Stow College. Appears as: ...

– drums *

Christopher McGuire Christopher McGuire (born November 28, 1975 -) is an American drum set player, session drummer, drum teacher, and producer. He is based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Early life and career Christopher McGuire was raised in a musical fa ...

– drums * Nora Danielson – violin * Maggie Doyle – keytar *

* Yuval Semo – organ, piano, string arrangement

Discography

Studio albums *''

'' (1994) *''

'' (1995) *'' Nothing for Juice'' (1996) *'' Full Force Galesburg'' (1997) *'' The Coroner's Gambit'' (2000) *''

'' (2002) *''

'' (2004) *''

'' (2005) *'' Get Lonely'' (2006) *'' Heretic Pride'' (2008) *''

'' (2009) *'' All Eternals Deck'' (2011) *'' Transcendental Youth'' (2012) *''

'' (2015) *''

'' (2017) *'' In League with Dragons'' (2019) *''

'' (2020) *''

'' (2020) *'' Dark in Here'' (2021) *'' Bleed Out'' (2022)

In other media

The band's music has been featured in the

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

television series '' Weeds''. "Cotton" was prominently featured in the season one episode "The Punishment Light", and "International Small Arms Traffic Blues" was featured in the season four episode "Yes I Can." The band performed the Theme to Weeds (Malvina Reynolds’ "

Little Boxes "Little Boxes" is a song written and composed by Malvina Reynolds in 1962, which became a hit for her friend Pete Seeger in 1963, when he released his cover version. The song is a social satire about the development of suburbia, and associat ...

") during the opening credits of Season 8, Episode 5. The song "Love, Love, Love" was performed by Lili Rose McKay in the movie ''

Welcome to Me ''Welcome to Me'' is a 2014 American comedy-drama film directed by Shira Piven and written by Eliot Laurence. The film stars Kristen Wiig as Alice Klieg, a lottery winner with borderline personality disorder who uses her newfound wealth to writ ...

''. Throughout the third season of the

Adult Swim Adult Swim (AS; stylized as

dult swim Dult is a village in Batala in Gurdaspur district of Punjab State, India. It is located from sub district headquarter, from district headquarter and from Sri Hargobindpur. The village is administrated by Sarpanch an elected representati ...

and often abbreviated as s is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television Television channel, channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programme ...

animated series ''

Moral Orel ''Moral Orel'' is an American adult stop-motion animated sitcom created by Dino Stamatopoulos which originally aired on Cartoon Network's nighttime programming block Adult Swim from December 13, 2005 to December 18, 2008. The series has been des ...

'', the songs "No Children", "Old College Try", and "Love Love Love" are featured. The band made their television debut on October 6, 2009, playing "Psalms 40:2" on ''

''. On January 19, 2010, they played "Genesis 3:23" on ''

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by comedian Jimmy Fallon. About pag ...

''. On February 23, 2011, they played "Birth of Serpents" in support of their album, '' All Eternals Deck'', on the ''

Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the The Late Show (franchise), ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by ...

''. On April 6, 2015, the band performed "Foreign Object" on ''

Late Night with Seth Meyers ''Late Night with Seth Meyers'' is an American late-night news and political satire talk show hosted by Seth Meyers on NBC. The show premiered on February 24, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. Airing weeknights a ...

'' while promoting ''

''. In July 2019, the band performed on ''

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert ''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' is an American late-night news and liberal political satire talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert, which premiered on September 8, 2015. Produced by Spartina Productions and CBS Studios, it is the second it ...

'', with

joining in to sing "This Year". The song "Up the Wolves", from the band's album ''

'', was featured in '' The Walking Deads season four episode "

Still A still is an apparatus used to distill liquid mixtures by heating to selectively boil and then cooling to condense the vapor. A still uses the same concepts as a basic distillation apparatus, but on a much larger scale. Stills have been used ...

". The song "Game Shows Touch Our Lives", from the band's album ''

'', is quoted in the epigraph of

's novel ''

Paper Towns ''Paper Towns'' is a novel written by John Green, primarily for an audience of young adults, and was published on October 16, 2008, by Dutton Books. The novel is about the coming-of-age of the protagonist, Quentin "Q" Jacobsen and his search fo ...

''. Additionally, the song "Used to Haunt" was played in the credits of the

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

adaptation. The songs "Heel Turn 2" and "Sicilian Crest" originally premiered on the "weather report" section of the podcast ''

Welcome to Night Vale ''Welcome to Night Vale'' is a podcast presented as a radio show for the fictional town of Night Vale, reporting on the strange events that occur within it. The series was created in 2012 by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor. Published by Night Vale ...

''. On September 28, 2017, a podcast premiered entitled ''I Only Listen To The Mountain Goats'', hosted by John Darnielle and Joseph Fink, co-creator of the podcast ''

.'' The first season features track-by-track discussions of The Mountain Goats' album ''All Hail West Texas'' and features a guest artist performing a cover of that episode's featured song. A compilation album of all the covers featured on the show was released on April 6, 2018, the day after the season finale. A second season premiered in Spring 2019. The song "No Children" was prominently featured in the series finale of ''

You're the Worst ''You're the Worst'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Stephen Falk. Originally broadcast by FX, the series moved to its sister channel FXX beginning with the second season. The series follows Jimmy ( Chris Geere), a sel ...

''. In December, 2020,

Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unite ...

readers voted "This Year" as the number one song for the "Good Riddance 2020" playlist.

References

External links

Official site

themountaingoats.net

Five Tools
Peter Hughes webpage with band photos and tour journals. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mountain Goats, The Indie rock musical groups from California Musical collectives 4AD artists Lo-fi music groups American folk musical groups American indie folk groups Musicians from Durham, North Carolina Merge Records artists Shrimper Records artists Absolutely Kosher Records artists