The Mountain Goats have been through some major changes over the last 23 albums.
Many of these have been organic, from their beginnings with just song writer John Darnielle, his guitar and a cassette recorder, to ambitious multi-instrumental albums thanks in part to Matt Douglas joining the band in recent years.
Drafting in Superchunk and Bob Mould drummer Jon Wurster has added even more depth.
Arguably their 2025 album Through This Fire Across From Peter Balkan, marks the biggest shift, for it is the first in 23 years without bassist Peter Hughes, who like Wurster perfectly adds the heartbeats to Darnielle’s writing.
Peter Balkan is dedicated to Hughes, who announced he was leaving last year, for his decades of contribution to the band.
And what a dedication this release on their own label Cadmean Dawn is!
The ambition, the sound, the complexity of arrangements, the song writing are lifted up in tribute to Hughes.
Having Douglas on production duties helps.
For those familiar with the band, often their albums have a loose concept or theme, from goth culture and addiction to wrestling and Dungeons and Dragons.
Here the album charts the tales of a shipwrecked crew all based on a phrase that came to Darnielle in a dream. He discusses the origin of the album more here.
The result is a beautiful musical theatre score of an album of the shipwreck and its captain, Peter Balkan.
The sense of drama is added to by the addition of singer, actor and Hamilton creator Lin-Maneul Miranda.
Starting with a four-minute Overture helps too.
Miranda appears on two of the singles from the album Cold at Night and Armies of the Lord, as well as on Through this Fire and Broken to Begin With.
This is a dramatic album of remarkable consistency, as Mountain Goats releases often are. Among high points include Wurster’s heartbeat drumming on Fishing Boat, Darnielle’s vocals on Cold at Night, the dramatic change of pace on Dawn of Revelation and the beauty of Armies of the Lord.
This ranks very highly across the Mountain Goats back catalogue. The best? That will always be Sunset Tree for me, but at this exact moment, it could be this tale of Peter Balkan.
By Joe Lepper
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