On 鈥淛enny from Thebes,鈥� offer a sequel to one of their most beloved albums, 2002's 鈥淎ll Hail West Texas." This one has a lot more bells and whistles.
The first album was an intimate, sparse affair with leader John Darnielle doing everything himself: singing, playing acoustic guitar and keyboard, recording it all on a Panasonic RX-FT500 boombox. This time around, he brought in Grammy-winning producer/engineer Trina Shoemaker and a full band: Darnielle, Peter Hughes, Matt Douglas and Jon Wurster. As a result, 鈥淛enny from Thebes鈥� is louder and more energetic than the solitary first record.
鈥淛enny from Thebes鈥� sends the Goats into some new genre territory, with new wave, folk rock, and pure pop woven throughout. There's the addition of horns and piano. brings her lush guitar sounds while Kathy Valentine of The Go-Go鈥檚 does backing vocals.
This collection wouldn't be out of place on Broadway, shaped by a myriad of influences from The Cars to to Ben Folds Five. Depending on your taste, the range of influences here make this one of the band's most approachable albums yet.
The common threads between many of the Mountain Goats records are lead singer Darnielle's distinctive, somewhat grating voice 鈥� imagine a 1960s coffeehouse folk singer 鈥� and his passion for narrative lyricism, which brings up characters like the titular Jenny, who has dropped in and out of his songs over the years.
On 鈥淎ll Hail West Texas,鈥� Jenny makes an appearance midway through the record on a song simply titled 鈥淛enny,鈥� in which she arrives to a home she shares with the narrator, who is completely smitten with her.
On 鈥淛enny from Thebes,鈥� Jenny returns, this time seen from a distance by a conflicted narrator, who describes her as 鈥渁 warrior, a thief," someone who 鈥渉it the corner clinic begging for relief.鈥� (Is it the same narrator from 鈥淛enny鈥�? That's for listeners to decide.)
Other characters on this album seem one step ahead of trouble or in the thick of it, a continuation of his idiosyncratic style: the insomniac traveler on the string-heavy 鈥淐lean Slate,鈥� the person 鈥減assed out on the sofa, cigarette burns and coffee stains, loose change in your pocket, Naltrexone in your veins" on 鈥淐leaning Crew," and a body floating in the water on 鈥淲ater Tower."
Many of the songs on this record are not defined by Darnielle's voice, as has been the case with many previous records. The Goats go a step further here, letting the melodic piano and buzzing guitar carry the catchy chorus on 鈥淥ne Way Out." Madcap drumming and driving guitar do the same on "Murder at the 18th St. Garage.鈥�
Darnielle said his goal on this record, the band's 22nd, was do the exact opposite of what he had done on 鈥淎ll Hail West Texas." He has done that by ceding some of the spotlight to the band. It sounds great, but only Darnielle knows if this is the new sound of the Goats 鈥� or just a scintillating detour.
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AP music reviews:
Michael Casey, The Associated Press
