In League with Dragons
Album by The Mountain Goats
In League With Dragons is the seventeenth studio album by the Mountain Goats , released on April 26, 2019, on Merge Records .[ 2] [ 3] Inspired by tabletop role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons , the album has been described as a "partial rock opera " with influences from noir literature .[ 2] [ 4]
Background
Indie rock band the Mountain Goats released their 16th full-length studio album, Goths , on May 19, 2017, via Merge Records .[ 5] The album was inspired by John Darnielle 's childhood enjoyment of gothic rock .[ 6] After supporting Jason Isbell on tour in June and July 2017, the Mountain Goats went on a North American headlining tour from September through December 2017 in support of Goths .[ 7]
Release
The album was announced on January 28, 2019. The announcement was accompanied by a live streaming event on Facebook and Twitch , hosted by Wizards of the Coast . The band also released three singles from the album: "Younger",[ 3] "Cadaver Sniffing Dog",[ 8] and "Sicilian Crest". The release of "Sicilian Crest" was accompanied by an hour-long discussion about the making of the song by frontman John Darnielle and podcaster Joseph Fink , on the podcast I Only Listen to the Mountain Goats ; season two of the podcast will ultimately consist of a track-by-track discussion of each song on the album.[ 9]
The album was released on April 26, 2019, on Merge Records. Special editions of the album come with an additional 7-inch record , Sentries in the Ambush EP , featuring two non-album tracks.
Track listing
All tracks are written by John Darnielle
Title 1. "Done Bleeding" 4:38 2. "Younger" 5:52 3. "Passaic 1975" 3:55 4. "Clemency for the Wizard King" 2:47 5. "Possum by Night" 2:59 6. "In League with Dragons" 3:11 7. "Doc Gooden " 4:19 8. "Going Invisible 2" 3:05 9. "Waylon Jennings Live!" 3:15 10. "Cadaver Sniffing Dog" 3:55 11. "An Antidote for Strychnine" 6:04 12. "Sicilian Crest" 4:22 Total length: 48:22
Sentries in the Ambush EP (special edition bonus 7" ) Title 13. "Sentries in the Ambush" 2:48 14. "Divided Sky Lane" 3:38
Reception
At Metacritic , which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 77 (based on 14 reviews) indicating "generally favorable reviews".[ 10]
Personnel
John Darnielle – vocals, piano, lyrics, composition
Peter Hughes – bass
Jon Wurster – drums, percussion
Matt Douglas – woodwinds, guitars, vocals
Thom Gill – guitars
Johnny Spence – organ, Memorymoog, piano, Wurlitzer, synth
Bram Gielen – guitars, piano, synth
Owen Pallett – piano, organ, guitar, production
Dan Dugmore – pedal steel
Robert Bailey – vocal arrangements, vocals
Everett Drake – vocals
Jason Eskridge – vocals
Michael Mishaw – vocals
The Macedonian Radio Symphonic Orchestra – strings
strings arranged by Owen Pallett, conducted by Oleg Kondratenko, engineered by Giorgi Hristovski with Atanas Babaleski
Matt Ross-Spang – engineering
Shani Gandhi – mixing
Brent Lambert – mastering
Elton D'Souza – artwork
Daniel Murphy – design
Charts
References
^ "In League with Dragons" . Bandcamp . Retrieved February 2, 2019 .
^ a b Kreps, Daniel (January 28, 2019). "Mountain Goats Create 'Dragon Noir' Genre With New Album 'In League With Dragons' " . Rolling Stone . Retrieved January 29, 2019 .
^ a b Bote, Joshua (January 28, 2019). "The Mountain Goats Announces Dungeons & Dragons-Inspired Album" . NPR . Retrieved January 29, 2019 .
^ Schatz, Lake (January 28, 2019). "The Mountain Goats announce new album, In League with Dragons, share 'Younger': Stream" . Consequence of Sound . Retrieved January 29, 2019 .
^ Geslani, Michelle (May 15, 2017). "The Mountain Goats release new album Goths: Stream" . Consequence of Sound . Retrieved April 14, 2021 .
^ Lindsay, Cam (May 17, 2017). "John Darnielle Lived the Teenage Goth Life I Never Did" . Vice . Retrieved April 14, 2021 .
^ Sacher, Andrew (June 5, 2017). "The Mountain Goats announce fall tour dates" . BrooklynVegan . Retrieved April 14, 2021 .
^ Martin, Clare. "The Mountain Goats Will Bloody up Your Day with Their New Single "Cadaver Sniffing Dog" " . Paste . Archived from the original on April 11, 2019. Retrieved April 11, 2019 .
^ "I Only Listen to the Mountain Goats Season 2" . I Only Listen to the Mountain Goats . Nightvale Presents. Retrieved April 11, 2019 .
^ a b In League with Dragons by The Mountain Goats , retrieved June 8, 2019
^ "In League with Dragons - The Mountain Goats | Songs, Reviews, Credits" . AllMusic . Retrieved June 8, 2019 .
^ Clark, Tyler (April 24, 2019). "The Mountain Goats Prove Adept Dungeon Masters on In League with Dragons" . Consequence of Sound . Retrieved March 3, 2020 .
^ Hann, Michael (April 26, 2019). "Mountain Goats: In League With Dragons review – deliciously detailed indie rock" . The Guardian . ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved June 8, 2019 .
^ "The Mountain Goats: In League With Dragons" . Pitchfork . Retrieved June 8, 2019 .
^ Dolan, Jon (April 26, 2019). "Review: Mountain Goats Conjure Sad Wizards and Other Fading Heroes on 'In League With Dragons' " . Rolling Stone . Retrieved June 8, 2019 .
^ "ARIA Australian Top 50 Digital Albums" (PDF) . Australian Recording Industry Association . May 6, 2019. Retrieved May 4, 2019 .
^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100" . Official Charts Company . Retrieved May 4, 2019.
^ "The Mountain Goats Chart History (Billboard 200)" . Billboard . Retrieved May 7, 2019.
^ "The Mountain Goats Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)" . Billboard . Retrieved June 29, 2019.
^ "The Mountain Goats Chart History (Top Americana/Folk Albums)" . Billboard . Retrieved June 29, 2019.
^ "The Mountain Goats Chart History (Top Rock Albums)" . Billboard . Retrieved June 29, 2019.
External links
Albums Released demos Cassette releases EPs and singles Individual songs Collaborations Compilations Unreleased Collaborators Related articles