Merge Records

The Mountain Goats will reissue All Hail West Texas on CD, LP and digital in the US on July 23 and in Europe on August 6. To celebrate the first-ever vinyl release of All Hail West Texas, we are giving away a test pressing of the remastered album.

To enter, pre-order All Hail West Texas on CD or LP in the Merge store, or email ahwt@mergerecords.com and provide your name and address in the body of the message. Everyone who has already pre-ordered the album in the Merge store will be entered into the drawing automatically, so please do not enter again via email. Only one entry will be accepted per person or email address; multiple entries will be disqualified. All entries must be received by noon EDT on Monday, July 15. The winner of the test pressing will be contacted before the July 23 US release date.

Remastered from the original 1/4” reels and expanded to include seven unearthed songs from the two surviving contemporaneous cassettes, the reissue of All Hail West Texas stands as the peak of the Mountain Goats’ home-recording era, a time people like to refer to as “when John Darnielle had his four-track,” except John did not actually use a four-track. He used the condenser mic of a Panasonic boombox and there was no overdubbing. All songs were recorded on the day they were written, usually within minutes of the actual composition. Highlights include “Jenny,” “Fall of the Star High School Running Back,” and “The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton,” a song that has compelled audiences around the globe to yell “Hail Satan,” and to mean it.

Package art features a newly penned 1,800-word essay by John detailing his songwriting and recording process for the album. The LP is packaged in a deluxe gatefold jacket and includes a digital download of the full record plus the seven additional tracks. The CD, which includes the full album and extra tracks on one disc, comes in a premium digipak with a 12-page booklet.

Pre-order All Hail West Texas now on CD and LP. Follow the Mountain Goats on Twitter and keep up with John Darnielle on Tumblr. See John and Peter on an all-ages duo tour now in progress!

The Mountain Goats on tour:
* – w/ The Baptist Generals
# – w/ Alessi’s Ark
June 14 Cincinnati, OH Taft Ballroom*
June 15 Bloomington, IN Buskirk-Chumley Theatre*
June 16 Evanston, IL Space*
June 17 Chicago, IL Lincoln Hall*
June 19 Kansas City, MO The Record Bar*
June 20 St. Louis, MO Old Rock House*
June 22 Birmingham, AL The Bottletree*
June 23 Gainesville, FL High Dive*
June 24 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Culture Room*
June 26 Charleston, SC The Charleston Pourhouse *
June 27 West Columbia, SC New Brookland Tavern*
June 28 Wilmington, NC The Soapbox *
July 06 Durham, NC Festival for the Eno
July 26-28 Newport, RI Newport Folk Festival
July 28 Asheville, NC Bele Chere Festival
Sept 13-16 Miami, FL Atlantic Ocean Comedy and Music Festival
Oct 7 Bristol, UK St. Georges #
Oct 8 London, UK Union Chapel #
Oct 9 Manchester, UK Royal Northern College of Music #
Oct 10 Glasgow, UK Arches #
Oct 12 Gent, Belgium Handelsbeurs #
Oct 13 Amsterdam, Netherlands People’s Place #
Oct 14 Cologne, Germany Luxor #
Oct 16 Paris, France La Gaite Lyrique #
Oct 18 Madrid, Spain Teatre Conde Duque #
Oct 19 Barcelona, Spain Caprichos de Apolo #

The Mountain Goats will reissue All Hail West Texas on CD, LP and digital in the US on July 23 and in Europe on August 6. Read a very cool piece about the record by Matt Fraction over at John Darnielle’s Tumblr, and John posted a few words at Mountain-Goats.com.

The last of the “all-home-recordings albums” by the Mountain Goats and the only one about which that claim is true, All Hail West Texas was originally released as a free-standing compact disc on the late, lamented Emperor Jones. That was about a decade ago. The songs were originally transferred from the cassettes onto which they were recorded to 1/4” reels at Tiny Telephone by Alex Newport, who also played in Fudge Tunnel. John got really excited when he realized his tapes were being EQ’d by the guy from Fudge Tunnel.

Remastered from those reels, along with 7 unearthed songs from the two surviving contemporaneous cassettes, All Hail West Texas stands as the peak of the Mountain Goats’ home recording era, a time people like to refer to as “when John Darnielle had his four-track,” except John did not actually use a four-track. He used the condenser mic of a Panasonic boombox and there was no overdubbing. All songs recorded on the day they were written, usually within minutes of the actual composition. Highlights include “Jenny,” “Fall of the Star High School Running Back,” and “The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton,” a song that has compelled audiences around the globe to yell “Hail Satan,” and to mean it.

Package art features a newly penned 1,800-word essay by John detailing his songwriting and recording process for the album. The LP is packaged in a deluxe gatefold jacket and includes a digital download of the full record plus the seven additional tracks. Also, this will be the first time All Hail West Texas has been available on LP. The CD, which includes the full album and extra tracks on one disc, comes in a premium digipak with a 12-page booklet.

Pre-order All Hail West Texas now on CD and LP. Follow the Mountain Goats on Twitter and keep up with John Darnielle on Tumblr. See John & Peter on an all-ages duo tour beginning June 3 in Washington, DC. Tickets are going fast!

The Mountain Goats on tour:
* = w/ The Baptist Generals
June 3 Washington, DC 9:30 Club*
June 4 York, PA Strand- Capitol Performing Arts*
June 5 Hoboken, NJ Maxwell’s*
June 7 New Haven, CT Center Church on the Green*
June 8 Portland, ME Port City Music Hall*
June 9 South Burlington, VT Higher Ground Ballroom*
June 11 Munhall, PA Carnegie Music Hall of Homestead*
June 12 Detroit, MI Majestic Theatre*
June 14 Cincinnati, OH Taft Ballroom*
June 15 Bloomington, IN Buskirk-Chumley Theatre*
June 16 Evanston, IL Space*
June 17 Chicago, IL Lincoln Hall*
June 19 Kansas City, MO The Record Bar*
June 20 St. Louis, MO Old Rock House*
June 22 Birmingham, AL The Bottletree*
June 23 Gainesville, FL High Dive*
June 24 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Culture Room*
June 26 Charleston, SC The Charleston Pourhouse *
June 27 West Columbia, SC New Brookland Tavern*
June 28 Wilmington, NC The Soapbox *
July 26-28 Newport, RI Newport Folk Festival
September 13-16 Miami, FL Atlantic Ocean Comedy and Music Festival

The Mountain Goats have announced a run of summer tour dates beginning June 3 at the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC. John Darnielle and Peter Hughes will tour as a duo for the first time since 2007, and all of the shows will be all-ages. The Baptist Generals will open, and a full list of dates is below.

Darnielle offered more details on his website:

Peter and I toured our asses off back in the pre-trio days, but that was before our ascent to the absolute upper echelon of global media saturation. We are pleased to report that a year-plus worth of talking about touring the Mountain Goats in alternate configurations to all-ages rooms is yielding its first fruits this June, in the form of the TUTTLINGEN WARRIORS TOUR 2013, whose name is an inside joke, I’ll tell you about it between songs at some point during the tour, I have too much else still to cover here to get into it right now. We’re bringing out the Baptist Generals, one of our favorite bands, who have a new album coming out — their first in years — and for Peter and I this is a huge event, like on an “unheard post-Marquee Moon pre-Adventure Television album discovered” level: some bands you know will someday get the acclaim that’s due them and this is one of them. Their new album is so deeply moving I’m not even going to get into it right now, here, try this, see what I mean, are you enjoying the continuing effects of José Saramago on my use of the comma, I hope so because I can no longer help it.

Watch the video for “Cry for Judas” now, and find Transcendental Youth on CD, LP and digital download now in the Merge store.

The Mountain Goats on tour:
* = w/ The Baptist Generals
May 1 Boone, NC Appalachian State University
June 3 Washington, DC 9:30 Club*
June 4 York, PA Strand- Capitol Performing Arts*
June 5 Hoboken, NJ Maxwell’s*
June 7 New Haven, CT Center Church on the Green*
June 8 Portland, ME Port City Music Hall*
June 9 South Burlington, VT Higher Ground Ballroom*
June 11 Munhall, PA Carnegie Music Hall of Homestead*
June 12 Detroit, MI Majestic Theatre*
June 14 Cincinnati, OH Taft Ballroom*
June 15 Bloomington, IN Buskirk-Chumley Theatre*
June 16 Evanston, IL Space*
June 17 Chicago, IL Lincoln Hall*
June 19 Kansas City, MO The Record Bar*
June 20 St. Louis, MO Old Rock House*
June 22 Birmingham, AL The Bottletree*
June 23 Gainesville, FL High Dive*
June 24 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Culture Room*
June 26 Charleston, SC The Charleston Pourhouse *
June 27 West Columbia, SC New Brookland Tavern*
June 28 Wilmington, NC The Soapbox *
July 26-28 Newport, RI Newport Folk Festival
September 13-16 Miami, FL Atlantic Ocean Comedy and Music Festival

 

 

The Mountain Goats premiered the new video for “Cry for Judas” at Pitchfork TV.

Directed by Carlo Mirabella-Davis and shot last month in upstate New York, the “Cry for Judas” video is described by Pitchfork as an “emotional rollercoaster.” Mirabella-Davis wrote and directed the short film Knife Point, and co-directed and produced the feature documentary The Swell Season.

The band kicked off the first leg of their U.S. tour last night in Richmond, VA and have already sold out all four of their New York shows next week.

Darnielle of the Mountain Goats recently filmed performances of “Harlem Roulette” off Transcendental Youth along the New York City waterfront for Pitchfork.tv and WNYC’s Souncheck where he performed: “In Memory of Satan”, “White Cedar”, “Counterfeit Florida Plates” off the new album, along with “Thank You Mario, But Our Princess Is In Another Castle”. Darnielle also performed four songs for Gothamist House Presents including “Harlem Roulette”, “Cry for Judas”, “No Children” and “Raja Vocative”.

Transcendental Youth is available now on CD, LP, and digital in the Merge store.

The Mountain Goats on tour:
Oct 10 Baltimore, MD The Ottobar*
Oct 11 Philadelphia, PA Theatre of Living Arts*
Oct 13 Brooklyn, NY Music Hall of Williamsburg*
Oct 14 Brooklyn Music Hall of Williamsburg*
Oct 15 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom*
Oct 16 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom*
Oct 18 Boston House of Blues*
Oct 19 Ithaca, NY The Haunt*
Oct 20 Toronto, ON Phoenix Concert Theatre*
Oct 22 Grand Rapids, MI Covenant Fine Arts Center*
Oct 23 Milwaukee, WI Pabst Theatre*
Oct 24 Minneapolis, MN Varsity Theatre*
Oct 26 Iowa City, IA The Blue Moose TapHouse*
Oct 27 Chicago, IL Vic Theatre*
Nov 4 Huntington, WV Keith-Albee Performing Arts Center (Mountain Stage)
Nov 29 Atlanta, GA Terminal West*
Nov 30 Asheville, NC Grey Eagle*
Dec 1 Nashville, TN Mercy Lounge*
Dec 3 Tulsa, OK Cain’s Ballroom*
Dec 4 Dallas, TX Granada Theatre*
Dec 5 Austin, TX Emo’s East*
Dec 7 Sante Fe, NM Santa Fe Brewing Co.*
Dec 8 Phoenix, AZ The Crescent Ballroom*
Dec 9 Tucson, AZ Club Congress*
Dec 10 San Diego, CA Irenic*
Dec 13 Los Angeles, CA Troubadour*
Dec 14 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore*
Dec 16 Portland, OR Aladdin Theatre*
Dec 17 Seattle, WA The Showbox*
*w/ Matthew E. White

The Mountain Goats are set to release their new album Transcendental Youth on October 2nd. Stream the full album now exclusively via Rolling Stone.

Listen to Transcendental Youth now at RollingStone.com

John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats recently filmed performances of “Harlem Roulette” off Transcendental Youth along the New York City waterfront for Pitchfork.tv and WNYC’s Souncheck where he performed: “In Memory of Satan”, “White Cedar”, “Counterfeit Florida Plates” off the new album, along with “Thank You Mario, But Our Princess Is In Another Castle.”

In addition, the Mountain Goats announce the second leg of their U.S. tour that takes the band across the southern U.S. and along the west coast. Matthew E. White, who wrote the horn arrangements for the band’s forthcoming release, Transcendental Youth will continue on as the opener for this 2^nd leg of dates. Matthew E. White, described by Stereogum as “bring[ing] together the warm, haunted tones of Leonard Cohen, Terry Riley, and Dr. John,” will be performing his debut album Big Inner with a 9-piece band; his horn section, in this special tour engagement, will join in the Mountain Goats’ set. John Darnielle writes of the collaboration: “One of my fondest memories of the Transcendental Youth recording sessions is listening in the control room as Matthew and his players brought his horn arrangements to life on the other side of the glass. Me and Peter and Jon just sat there with our jaws on the floor. We can’t wait to hear it come together live.”

Before the tour kicks off, the Mountain Goats will perform the program Transcendental Youth with the world-renowned vocal quartet, Anonymous 4, on October 6^th in Durham, NC. Five songs from Transcendental Youth, in special vocal arrangements by Owen Pallett,  serve as the hub of the program, which also spans the catalog of both the Mountain Goats and Anonymous 4. The program was performed earlier this year at the Ecstatic Music Festival in New York City and at The Barbican in London.

Pre-order Transcendental Youth now on CD or LP in the Merge store.

The Mountain Goats on tour:
Oct 6 Durham, NC Reynolds Industries Theatre w/ Anonymous 4
Oct 9 Richmond, VA The National*
Oct 10 Baltimore, MD The Ottobar*
Oct 11 Philadelphia, PA Theatre of Living Arts*
Oct 13 Brooklyn, NY Music Hall of Williamsburg*
Oct 14 Brooklyn Music Hall of Williamsburg*
Oct 15 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom*
Oct 16 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom*
Oct 18 Boston House of Blues*
Oct 19 Ithaca, NY The Haunt*
Oct 20 Toronto, ON Phoenix Concert Theatre*
Oct 22 Grand Rapids, MI The Ladies Literary Club*
Oct 23 Milwaukee, WI Pabst Theatre*
Oct 24 Minneapolis, MN Varsity Theatre*
Oct 26 Iowa City, IA The Blue Moose TapHouse*
Oct 27 Chicago, IL Vic Theatre*
Nov 4 Huntington, WV Keith-Albee Performing Arts Center (Mountain Stage)
Nov 29 Atlanta, GA Terminal West*
Dec 1 Nashville, TN Mercy Lounge*
Dec 3 Tulsa, OK Cain’s Ballroom*
Dec 4 Dallas, TX Granada Theatre*
Dec 5 Austin, TX Emo’s East*
Dec 7 Sante Fe, NM Santa Fe Brewing Co.*
Dec 8 Phoenix, AZ The Crescent Ballroom*
Dec 9 Tucson, AZ Club Congress*
Dec 10 San Diego, CA Irenic*
Dec 13 Los Angeles, CA Troubadour*
Dec 14 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore*
Dec 16 Portland, OR Aladdin Theatre*
Dec 17 Seattle, WA The Showbox*
*w/ Matthew E. White

The Mountain Goats announce the first leg of their fall tour, kicking off October 9 in Richmond, Virginia. Opening for the Mountain Goats will be Matthew E. White, who wrote the horn arrangements for the band’s forthcoming release, Transcendental Youth.

Matthew E. White, described by Stereogum as “bring[ing] together the warm, haunted tones of Leonard Cohen, Terry Riley, and Dr. John,” will be performing his debut album Big Inner with a 9-piece band; his horn section, in this special tour engagement, will join in the Mountain Goats’ set. John Darnielle writes of the collaboration: “One of my fondest memories of the Transcendental Youth recording sessions is listening in the control room as Matthew and his players brought his horn arrangements to life on the other side of the glass. Me and Peter and Jon just sat there with our jaws on the floor. We can’t wait to hear it come together live.”

Before the tour kicks off, the Mountain Goats will play a covers and rarities set at the Hopscotch Music Festival September 7 in Raleigh, NC. Then on October 6 in Durham, NC, the Mountain Goats will perform the program Transcendental Youth with the world-renowned vocal quartet, Anonymous 4. Five songs from Transcendental Youth, in special vocal arrangements by Owen Pallett, serve as the hub of the program, which also spans the catalog of both the Mountain Goats and Anonymous 4. The program was performed earlier this year at the Ecstatic Music Festival in New York City and at The Barbican in London.

Hear the first single “Cry for Judas” now on the Merge SoundCloud page, and pre-order Transcendental Youth now on CD and LP in the Merge store.

The Mountain Goats on tour:
Sept 1 Livermore, CA Wente Vineyards Estate Winery%
Sept 7 Raleigh, NC Fletcher Opera Theatre (Hopscotch Music Festival)
Oct 6 Durham, NC Reynolds Industries Theatre w/ Anonymous 4
Oct 9 Richmond, VA The National*
Oct 10 Baltimore, MD The Ottobar*
Oct 11 Philadelphia, PA Theatre of Living Arts*
Oct 14 Brooklyn, NY Music Hall of Williamsburg*
Oct 15 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom*
Oct 18 Boston, MA House of Blues*
Oct 19 Ithaca, NY The Haunt*
Oct 20 Toronto, ON Phoenix Concert Theatre*
Oct 22 Grand Rapids, MI The Ladies Literary Club*
Oct 23 Milwaukee, WI Pabst Theatre*
Oct 24 Minneapolis, MN Varsity Theatre*
Oct 26 Iowa City, IA The Blue Moose TapHouse*
Oct 27 Chicago, IL Vic Theatre*
% The Dodos
*w/ Matthew E. White

 

The Mountain Goats’ Transcendental Youth will be available in stores on CD, LP and digital on October 2nd. Starting today, the first 1,000 pre-orders from the Merge store will receive a limited edition 7-inch single with two exclusive songs: “Steal Smoked Fish” b/w “In the Shadow of the Western Hills.” Performed solo by Darnielle, the songs were recorded by Brandon Eggleston at Cloud City in Portland and were tracked directly to 1/2-inch tape without overdubs. Darnielle describes the 7-inch as “the end-point of a truly live all-analog chain that was never converted at any point to ones and zeroes.” Digital versions of these tracks with ones and zeros added will be available in the future.

Pre-order the Mountain Goats’ Transcendental Youth on CD or LP now in the Merge store

The Mountain Goats have also made available the first single from their forthcoming album, Transcendental Youth, entitled “Cry for Judas.” You can stream and download the track for free at the Merge Records Soundcloud page. The track is also available in the iTunes store. John Darnielle said of the track, “Like a lot of the new album, this song is about saddling up your demons and learning to ride them like devil horses with big leathery wings. To the best of my knowledge, it’s also the first song ever to feature both a swinging horn section and a line about a baphomet drawn in chalk on an altar cloth, so everybody else who was trying to square that circle can take a breather now.”

Stream & download “Cry for Judas” from Transcendental Youth now at the Merge SoundCloud page

Transcendental Youth was recorded at Overdub Lane in Durham with Brandon Eggleston and later mixed by Scott Solter at Baucom Road. For the first time, a Mountain Goats record features horns arrangements by Matthew E. White.

The Mountain Goats will be touring this fall. Tour dates will be announced very soon, in the meantime keep up with the Mountain Goats on Twitter, Facebook and at mountain-goats.com.

Tour Dates:
July 28 St. Petersburg, FL Antiwarpt Festival
Sept 6-8 – Raleigh, NC Hopscotch Festival
Oct 6 Durham, NC Reynolds Industries Theatre w/ Anonymous 4

The Mountain Goats will release Transcendental Youth on October 2, 2012.

Read more about the album from John Hodgman below and from John Darnielle himself at mountain-goats.com.

Pre-orders of Transcendental Youth will be available in the Merge store beginning July 25 with a special surprise, so stay tuned!

Biographical details that I have personally observed regarding John Darnielle and the Mountain Goats

John Darnielle is a human male and American musician who was born in Indiana.

Alone or in collaboration with others, he has been known as the Mountain Goats since 1991.

He grew up in Central California, and has lived in many states, but now lives in North Carolina with his wife and child and at least one cat that I have observed.

I visited his home in the year 2011. I took off my shoes when I came in the door because that is my habit. No one made me do it.

John Darnielle’s house is not rockstar huge, nor rockstar glamorous. It does not have a home theater or rolfing center. It’s modest.

There is an office packed with shelves reflecting his preoccupations: pulp horror and philosophy and religious study. John Darnielle is fascinated with both death metal and the Holy Bible and speaks eloquently of the dark magic and elegance and grace of both.

Now I am going to tell you that, in the study by the stairs, I stepped in a little bit of cat vomit.

I can report that John Darnielle was not embarrassed. Because he knows it is in a cat’s nature to vomit, and because he saw an opportunity for kindness. He loaned me some socks, and they were argyle, warm from the dryer and very soft.

The house has a basement, which John Darnielle describes as “awesome.”

The basement is not particularly awesome. (I have seen some awesome basements.) It has some drums and guitars in it but otherwise is a fairly typical basement of a modest, middle-class home. Normal.

It is my impression that this may be why John Darnielle considers his basement to be awesome, for such normality was not necessarily going to be his fate.

Inside the basement is a box of a limited-edition, alternate vinyl version of his album The Sunset Tree, which came out in 2005. Each one is hand-painted by John: white sleeve traced with naïve snakes and swirls of bright color.

John Darnielle told me that he made these when things were going well in his career, but he was still not convinced he was going to make it…when he still thought he might have to go back to psychiatric nursing, which is what he did when he started writing and recording songs.

Those first recordings, you may have read, were made on a simple cassette recorder. And those tapes of just him plus guitar are full of hiss and urgency. They were made for one reason. Like these hand-painted LPs, even if all else failed, they were going to get out there, no matter what.

He has written almost 600 songs now, and some of them are very sad, dealing with hard drugs and tragic ends, hurting yourself and others, sicknesses of both body and brain, off-brand alcohols. They are told in beautiful, unnerving, specific detail, because John Darnielle is a very good writer, and also some of them are just true stories about his own life.

But many have noted that John Darnielle seems often very happy, and his demeanor on stage is almost exclusively unhaunted, ecstatic.

Anyone who reads his Twitter feed knows he takes great delight in his delights: vegan cooking, fat babies, hockey, the beautiful alchemy of Chemex coffee, Anonymous 4, playing music for people, loaning out socks when the time comes, basements.

These are the consolations; and if some of his songs suggest that there are real hells on earth, other songs remind that the heavens are equally close at hand.

(Sometimes they are even the same songs.)

It is my impression that this is the ecstasy John Darnielle is feeling: that thrill of having survived, escaped for even a second to enjoy those small transcendent delights, and to sing of them.

And I can report that if you are standing in the basement with John Darnielle and wondering how he survived this far, to stand happy in this heavenly basement, you may look down at the hand-painted album of songs you are holding and realize the answer is in your hand.

Like that album, TRANSCENDENTAL YOUTH is full of songs about people who madly, stupidly, blessedly won’t stop surviving, no matter who gives up on them.

I can report that it is a very good album and has many more instruments on it than those early tapes, including Peter Hughes on bass, Jon Wurster on drums, and, for the first time, a full horn section. And all of this makes a very joyous noise.

Everything I have written here is true, to the best of my knowledge.

I am not giving back the socks.

That is all.

John Hodgman
2012

The Mountain Goats visited the new NPR show Cabinet of Wonders. Hosted by John Wesley Harding, Cabinet of Wonders is a variety show with celebrated musicians, writers and comedians.

Described as, “a little bit Vaudeville, a little bit rock n’ roll — and a whole lot of fun,” Cabinet of Wonders can be downloaded at NPR.org. The Mountain Goats appeared on episode 2 along with Craig Finn (of the Hold Steady), Rosanne Cash, and Hamilton Leithauser (of The Walkmen). Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Paul Harding read an evocative, unusual tale about life on the Nigerian oil fields. And comedian Eugene Mirman read secret messages he leaves on bar napkins, to surprise customers he’ll never meet.

Download Cabinet of Wonders, episode 2 now at NPR.org

The Mountain Goats will head to the west coast this month for a nearly sold out solo tour. Beginning in Seattle on June 23 and held at smaller venues, the solo tour will end on July 3 at the Folk Music Center in Claremont, CA. All Eternals Deck is available on CD, LP and digital download now in the Merge store.

The Mountain Goats on tour:
Jun 22 Vancouver, BC The Rio Theatre
Jun 23 Seattle, WA Columbia City Theater (Sold Out)
Jun 25 Portland, OR The Mission Theater
Jun 27 San Francisco, CA Swedish American Hall (Sold Out)
Jun 28 San Francisco, CA Swedish American Hall (Sold Out)
Jun 30 Santa Monica, CA McCabe’s Guitar Shop (Sold Out)
Jul 01 Santa Monica, CA McCabe’s Guitar Shop (Sold Out)
Jul 03 Claremont, CA Folk Music Center (Sold Out)
Jul 28 St. Petersburg, FL Antiwarpt Festival
Sep 07 Raleigh, NC Fletcher Opera Theater – Hopscotch Music Festival

The Mountain Goats will head to the west coast in June for a rare solo tour. Beginning in Seattle on June 23 and playing at smaller venues, the solo tour will end on July 3 at the Folk Music Center in Claremont, CA. Visit mountain-goats.com for John’s announcement of the tour and the story behind it.

Also, the Mountain Goats have announced two special performances in one night at the Fletcher Opera House as part of the 2012 Hopscotch Festival in September. Tentatively titled ‘Nearer My Hateful Mankind Plague to Thee,’ and featuring one set of requests and one set of metal covers, the show is sure to be a once-in-a-lifetime event. Read an interview with John at Hopscotchmusicfest.com.

The Mountain Goats’ latest album All Eternals Deck is available on CD, LP and digital download now in the Merge store.

The Mountain Goats on tour:
Apr 19 Durham, NC Motorco Music Hall – Benefit to Defeat Amendment One
Apr 21 St. Louis, MO Gargoyle at Washington University
May 01 Perth, AU The Bakery
May 03 Byron Bay, AU The Great Northern
May 04 Brisbane, AU The Zoo
May 06 Sydney, AU The Metro
May 08 Katoomba, AU The Clarendon
May 10 Melbourne, AU The Corner Hotel
Jun 22 Vancouver, BC The Rio Theatre
Jun 23 Seattle, WA Columbia City Theater
Jun 25 Portland, OR The Mission Theater
Jun 27 San Francisco, CA Swedish American Hall
Jun 28 San Francisco, CA Swedish American Hall
Jun 30 Santa Monica, CA McCabe’s Guitar Shop
Jul 01 Santa Monica, CA McCabe’s Guitar Shop
Jul 03 Claremont, CA Folk Music Center
Sep 07 Raleigh, NC Fletcher Opera Theater – Hopscotch Music Festival

The Mountain Goats’ John Darnielle performed with vocal quartet Anonymous 4 in New York last weekend as part of the Ecstatic Music Festival. NPR streamed the show and you can listen to the archive now.

Listen to the Mountain Goats perform live with Anonymous 4 from the Ecstatic Music Festival now on NPR.

The Mountain Goats on tour:
Apr 2 London, England The Barbican w/ Anonymous 4
May 1 Perth, WA, Australia
May 3 The Great Northern, Byron Bay, NSW, Australia
May 4 The Zoo, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
May 6 The Metro, Sydney, NSW, Australia
May 8 The Clarendon, Katoomba, NSW, Australia
May 10 The Corner Hotel, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

The Mountain Goats are hitting the road next week to visit the few places they missed on the All Eternals Deck tour in 2011. In an exercise hearkening back to the ’70s tours of The Rolling Stones and Neil Young, John, Peter and Jon have been demoing songs for their new, as-yet-untitled album and have chosen a few brand-new songs to perform each night during this tour.

John posted the following on his website regarding this new plan:

“One small word about these shows. For years bands have been pretty judicious about playing unreleased new material, because much of it becomes available online immediately, even when the new songs are still in fairly raw form. We, too, have gotten into the bad habit of holding new stuff back. We are done with that whole philosophy, though. I miss playing stuff that’s unreleased & unrecorded, stuff that still stings fresh. So we got together and decided to tour the new songs before we even record them. I don’t guess that we’ll be touring all ten of the new songs I’ve written for the next album (eleven if you count one that’s presently being herded back and forth between its cell & the chopping block), but be advised that if you’re the sort of person who wants as many surprises as possible when you hear a new album, you should tread lightly around recordings of these shows, because we’re not going to be holding the best ones back for the album release like people tend to do now.”

Full list of tour dates is below and you can find the Mountain Goats’ All Eternals Deck on CD, LP and digital download now in the Merge store.

 the Mountain Goats on tour:
* = w/ Nurses
Jan 19 Austin, TX – Antone’s* SOLD OUT
Jan 20 Houston, TX – Fitzgerald’s*
Jan 21 New Orleans, LA – Tipitina’s*
Jan 23 Tallahassee, FL – Club Downunder*
Jan 24 Orlando, FL – The Social*
Jan 25 Tampa, FL – Crowbar*
Jan 27 St. Augustine, FL – The Original Cafe Eleven*
Jan 28 Atlanta, GA – The Earl*
Jan 30 Athens, GA – 40 Watt Club*
Jan 31 Charlotte, NC – Visulite Theatre*
Feb 02 Asheville, NC – Grey Eagle*
Feb 04 Saxapahaw, NC – The Haw River Ballroom*
Mar 09 Denton, TX – 35 Denton Festival*
Mar 13 New York, NY – Carnegie Hall: “The Music of the Rolling Stones: Hot Rocks 1964–1971”
Mar 24 New York, NY – Ecstatic Music Festival w/ Anonymous 4
Apr 02 London, UK – The Barbican w/ Anonymous 4

The Mountain Goats returned to the AV Club’s round room in Chicago to perform “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” for the Holiday Undercover series. The full band had previously visited the AV Club Undercover to cover Jawbreaker’s “Boxcar.”

Watch the Mountain Goats perform “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”

The Mountain Goats wrapped up their 2011 touring in support of All Eternals Deck with a Los Angeles show for charity Invisible Children last weekend, and they have announced tour dates for early 2012. Go see them!

The Mountain Goats’ Merge debut All Eternals Deck is available on CD, LP and digital download in the Merge store. Orders over $50 save 10% with code MERGEHOLIDAYS through the end of December.

The Mountain Goats on tour:
* = w/ Nurses
Jan 19 Austin, TX – Antone’s*
Jan 20 Houston, TX – Fitzgerald’s*
Jan 21 New Orleans, LA – Tipitina’s*
Jan 23 Tallahassee, FL – Club Downunder*
Jan 24 Orlando, FL – The Social*
Jan 25 Tampa, FL – Crowbar*
Jan 27 St. Augustine, FL – The Original Cafe Eleven*
Jan 28 Atlanta, GA – The Earl*
Jan 30 Athens, GA – 40 Watt Club*
Jan 31 Charlotte, NC – Visulite Theatre*
Feb 02 Asheville, NC – Grey Eagle*
Feb 04 Saxapahaw, NC – The Haw River Ballroom*
Mar 09 Denton, TX – 35 Denton Festival*
Mar 13 New York, NY – Carnegie Hall: “The Music of the Rolling Stones: Hot Rocks 1964–1971”
Mar 24 New York, NY – Ecstatic Music Festival w/ Anonymous 4
Apr 02 London, UK – The Barbican w/ Anonymous 4