After 17 years of performing, touring and recording, folk-rock band The Mountain Goats have made an admirable impression on the indie world even if mainstream success has eluded them. In fact, tonight was this reviewer’s first real exposure to the band – pretty shameful given their prolific output on 15 studio albums (and numerous EPs) to date, including this year’s Heretic Pride.
Openers The Young Republic from Nashville, Tennessee make a valiant attempt to warm up the crowd with their take on alternative Americana, but it’s one that drifts all too easily into classic rock territory. Influence from the likes of Dylan and Waits through to Bright Eyes is obvious, but lead singer Julian Saporiti looks suspiciously reminiscent of Jackson Browne thanks to his floppy hair and brown jerkin. As he pumps the air with his fist, something in his performance his he seems lacking in self-awareness and there’s no hint of irony in sight. Off key singing doesn’t help the cause either.
The word is that The Mountain Goats are apprehensive about touring the UK, fearful of a lukewarm reception. But the reaction from tonight’s packed-out crowd hopefully proves to them just how special they’re considered to be.
For the uninitiated (like myself), The Mountain Goats is the project of singer-songwriter John Darnielle, whose lo-fi guitar sounds and intense and witty lyrics have seen him take the band through numerous incarnations. Current members Peter Hughes and John Wurster make welcome contributions but it is, of course, on Darnielle that the focus lies. His nasal voice somehow veers between American and Irish sounds but always with a warmth and excitement that befits the utterly charming songs. And his ad-lib introductions (though probably rehearsed) are hilarious – who’d have thought you could be so funny about songs that include child abuse and alcoholism as their subjects?
Plenty of material from the band’s most recent and highly acclaimed album receives an airing, but it is ‘classic’ songs like ‘No Children’ and ‘This Year’ that get the most rapturous response. And you can’t miss the massive grin on the band’s faces as the crowd all chant “Hail Satan” during ‘The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton’. After tonight, let’s hope they’ll never be nervous about gracing these shores again.
