The Mountain Goats - "Jenny From Thebes"
The Mountain Goats are an act that, at this point, shouldn’t need an introduction. But this is the first review for them that I’ve done on this platform, so let’s review (ha), shall we?
The band originally formed in 1991 and released their first album in 1994. At that point, they became that really obnoxious ‘just do it’ friend — the sort who completes their NaNoWriMo goals every single year and doesn’t understand why you haven’t published a book yet. Because now, 29 years after that first album, Jenny From Thebes is their 22nd studio album.
The last time they missed a year, in terms of releasing an LP, was 2018.
I generally have an issue with artists who don’t take the time to let their music really develop properly, but The Mountain Goats managed to produce good stuff pretty reliably. Hell, last year’s Bleed Out almost made my Top 40 (it was one of the five Blue albums that just missed out).1
Jenny From Thebes definitely sounds like the same well-practiced group that produced Bleed Out. It’s a nice, laid-back Indie Rock/Folk album with solid instrumentation and, as is the Goats’ trademark, clever lyricism. Honestly, the irreverent descriptions and clever one-liners in the lyrics are the reason why The Mountain Goats will stay on my list. I mean, here are the opening stanzas for two songs:
From opener “Clean Slate”:
One from East St. Louis with a scar beneath his eye Left the kitchen spotless on the day he said goodbye Breakaway republic dude, supremely filthy mouth Copiah, Mississipi; points much further south
From closer “Great Pirates”:
On the morning when I stop looking back I'll be up to see the sunrise in deep bruise black In bright blood red And pale desert rose And several other colors like those
There’s so much detail, in multiple layers, in the first one; the second really offers excellent insight to the speaker. And these are nowhere near the best examples of their lyrical skill — these are just two examples from this album that I grabbed on a whim.2
On top of this, the album has some exceptional moments with its deeper instrumentation, with lines of brass and woodwind running under the rest of the band at key moments on many songs. The extra layers here really help, I think, to salvage many songs, because the base compositions, throughout the album, feel like they’re missing something. And they’re missing enough of something that even these extra elements only make them good; the melodies just don’t feel quite as potent on Jenny From Thebes as what The Mountain Goats produced on Bleed Out.
It’s a solid, enjoyable listen, especially for the lyricism. At the same time, many of these songs feel like playlist filler, rather than anything you’ll want to highlight.
Rating: Green
I haven’t had the time to properly sit with each of the 20 albums that precede Bleed Out, but I suspect it’s one of the best they’ve ever produced.
This is a great time to remind you that The Mountain Goats saw a surge in popularity when “No Children” was used for a TikTok sound: “I am drowning!/There is no sight of land…”
It is definitely the reason I discovered them.