"John Darnielle has explored "soft rock" and all of its modalities on recent albums. While his lyrical obsessions (survival, breaking free, and more) have persisted since he began recording under the Mountain Goats moniker more than 30 years ago, his music has changed from the lo-fi-voice-and-guitar-to-tape beginnings to something more sonically rich. But with new album Through This Fire Across from Peter Balkan, out November 7, Darnielle investigates a different musical mode: the showtune."
"The title, taken from a dream Darnielle had, serves as both a murky missive from the subconscious and a dedication to longtime bassist Peter Hughes, who recently left the Mountain Goats after more than 20 years of service. Featuring backing vocals from Lin-Manuel Miranda on four tracks, the album tells the story of survivors of a shipwreck on a remote island. As their resources dwindle, so does their grip on reality."
"Darnielle has always painted his lyrics with an abstract brush, and those looking for a linear story à la Hamilton won't find it here. We know there are three survivors: an unnamed narrator, the concussed and delusional captain Peter Balkan, and Adam, the ghostly end of the triumvirate who vanishes into the sea. But Darnielle, always a cryptic lyricist, presents us with a challenge to parse what is real and what is fantasy."
John Darnielle shifts from recent soft-rock explorations to a showtune mode on Through This Fire Across from Peter Balkan. The album title came from a dream and doubles as a dedication to longtime bassist Peter Hughes. Lin-Manuel Miranda provides backing vocals on four tracks. The record frames a loose narrative about three shipwreck survivors — an unnamed narrator, the concussed captain Peter Balkan, and Adam, a ghostlike figure who vanishes into the sea — as dwindling resources erode their grip on reality. Abstract lyrics and recurring themes of survival and freedom complicate distinctions between fantasy and truth.
Read at SPIN
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