The Mountain Goats - Friendly Fire

It don’t take a genius to spot a goat in a flock of sheep, that’s for sure - John Darnielle of Mountain Goats fame certainly is a standout. So what do you ask a man who answers most of your questions the first time you hear his music? How to seem informed around someone who humbly says, “Books are my best friends” and peppers their songs with lofty literary ideas? His is the kind of music that makes the sky a little bluer.

The Dwarf found Darnielle friendly and talkative despite housing a formidable intellect. Early on in the piece he even tried out a really cheesy pick-up line, followed by a big, good-natured laugh admitting that he hadn’t been on the bar scene in a long time. Too busy working? Probably. But what you’ll also find in Darnielle is a shy, self-effacing character, without an ounce of showbiz sleaze. The man is 100% honest-to-goodness midwestern charm. He’s all “ma’am” and “y’know,” you know?

Topic one in our little chat was politics. Tough one to open with, you say? Well, as it happens it was “Super Wednesday” that day. “Super Wednesday” was, in my book, the day that logically followed “Super Tuesday”, when 50% of U.S. states held their voting primaries. (For the record, Darnielle’s aforementioned cheesiness was “Oh it is Super Wednesday now that I’m talking to you.”) The Mountain Goats were commissioned to write a song for the day - surprising to many fans, so I asked, “What was your first reaction when asked to write this song?” The reply: “My reaction? ‘HA! No… that will not be me.’” But after a bit of time tickling the ivories Darnielle wrote ‘Down to the Ark’, a cryptic song, which, he laughs, “holds forth on my thesis that all the candidates are evil and they probably all worship the devil!” Even Huckabee? said I. “What, do you have a thing for Huckabee?” he replied, obviously aghast. Things were awkward for a moment while he explained that Mike Huckabee is possibly the worst candidate, and I tried to point out that I simply like the name and that I’m disappointed his supporters don’t wear “I (heart) Huckabee” T-shirts. That’s all, I’m sorry! He laughed again, easily. Despite ‘Down to the Ark’s’ damnation of the quartet of presidential hopefuls, Darnielle’s personal opinion is less extreme in reality: “If somebody says ‘I want to be the most powerful person in the civilized world’, don’t you have good reason not to trust them already?” I asked for the significance of the U.S. states mentioned in the song, and he replied that basically, instead of listing all of them and running the risk of writing a patter song, he “just chose the ones that sounded good coming out of my mouth.” Gotta love honesty sometimes. So far the man’s charming, intelligent and candid. He also says things like “I’m a Catholic boy, y’know, so I’m eager to please.” Melt. What’s that now? And he’s coming to Australia in April? Get OUT!

Topic two: The Tour Down Under (unfortunately just cancelled – but expected to return later this year). The Mountain Goats have had three sell-out tours in as many years and they’re about to embark on another. I asked, “What are you, addicted to touring?” He says, frankly, “Oh I wouldn’t say so. It’s my job, it’s what I do.”

But seriously, they have come to Australia heaps, much more than your average globetrotting goats. Why? “In the case of Australia, we love being there.” Oh, you, stop! “So, yeah, we may tour there more than some other bands do, but that’s because we love you guys!” Really now, you’ll make us blush! So, what’s his favourite locale in our amazing country full of wonderful people? Unfortunately there’s no mention of the ‘Mania – Darnielle’s shout-out goes to Fremantle, of all places. “I have a soft spot for Western Australia because that was the first place we landed.” Fremantle, you’ve been touched. Never wash again. But on to more important issues like…

Topic three: The Album. The Mountain Goats will be promoting their latest offering Heretic Pride. The album covers all manner of sins but, for your information, Darnielle is not the heretic. When asked about this he replied “I don’t go to church much but I would be loathe to bare my own heresy…[The title track] is about a guy who is going to be martyred and yeah, he’s sorta, instead of begging for mercy, he’s sorta pumping his fist, like, “YEAH!! They’re gonna BURN ME ALIVE!! If they’re gonna martyr you you’ve gotta get your money’s worth.” Aside from gutsy sinners, the album deals with “images, obsessions and interests” that Darnielle has had since he was a kid. These things include religious cults and singers who meet untimely ends – not exactly lighthearted stuff, but he has a knack for making even the grizzliest subjects the stuff of hope and possibility.

This was the case especially with The Sunset Tree. Probably the most well known of Darnielle’s 12-odd albums, it focuses on his experiences with an abusive stepfather. The subject matter sounds heavy but perhaps because they were written retrospectively, the songs ones of strength and relief. As he said “It’s not a dark record as in gloomy, but it’s pretty dark in a lot of other ways.” The Sunset Tree elicited an enormous response from people with similar histories, who wrote and said they had heard their story in the album. For this reason Darnielle hasn’t written any more songs on the subject: “It would be really disrespectful to what those people got out of that record to sort of double-dip. You know, like, “If you enjoyed these stories of my abuse, enjoy these further stories of my abuse! It’s one thing to turn tragedy into art and it’s another to make a career out of it.” He laughs as he says, “If you do three or four records milking the same tragedy, then that path isn’t working for you!”

Without grandstanding or exploitation, Darnielle records his balanced outlook on life. I commend him on the way he progresses with each album and doesn’t rest on his laurels. He replies, cool as ever, “You’ve gotta keep moving y’know. Stay sharp, otherwise you die.” Damn skippy, man. I’m hooked.

The Mountain Goats 'Heretic Pride' is out now on Remote Control Records

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