The Mountain Goats - In League With Dragons (2019)

In League With Dragons, the 17th album from The Mountain Goats tells the story of aging wizards fighting back against the dying light. The album was conceived as a rock opera telling the story of wizards leading the defence of a seaside town against an attack from the sea. Like so many great plans however, the idea was mostly shelved (the songs remaining from the song cycle are Younger and Clemency for the Wizard King, a third song was released as a bonus vinyl track Sentries in the Ambush), but the germ of the idea remained, aging wizards, men once experts in their craft desperate to rekindle the fires of their youth.

Musically, the album marks new territory for The Mountain Goats, John Darnielle, so often the captain of the ship made the decision to relinquish musical control to producer and former collaborator Owen Pallett. Pallett chose to bring in musicians from Toronto (Thom Gill, Johnny Spence and Bram Gielman) and Nashville native and Garth Brooks collaborator Robert Bailey returned to contribute backing vocals after his work on Goths. Pallett was given full access to demo files and was allowed to make musical choices, Pallett even resurrected a song Darnielle had considered shelved (presumedly Passaic 1975,  a left over from the online EP, Marsh Witch Visions a song cycle about Ozzy Osbourne). Darnielle was happy to let Pallet bring in collaborators so long as the core band were allowed a few days ahead of time to lay down the bare bones of the tracks.

Since Matt Douglas became a full time member of the band with Beat The Champ, The Mountain Goats have broadened their musical pallete with forays into whole new genres such as jazz on Beat The Champ's Fire Editorial and goth-rock on Goths' Rain In Soho. To my mind, the most rewarding listens on In League With Dragons are those which push the boundaries of where The Mountain Goats have been before such as Clemency For The Wizard King, which sounds like it could have been borne from a Deadesque jam sessions. The song about a clan of warriors rescuing their wizard leader has the sound of a band of many members playing lightly on the instrument to a pleasing result. The title-track and Waylon Jennings Live! are both country-tinged, Cadaver Sniffing Dog, has a rare guitar solo by Thom Gill and the final track Sicilian Crest sounds like it could be an 1980s pop anthem.

Darnielle's songcraft and lyrics have always been the foremost attraction to The Mountain Goats, and once again  Darnielle knocks it out the park on this account. Darnielle is often able to find joy and cathartic energy where you wouldn't expect. After initial suggetions this might be Dungeons and Dragons concept album, instead we were given something much more rewarding an album about a revolving cast of wizards working out how they can reignite the magic of former years.