The Mountain Goats have returned with an EP, Hex of Infinite Binding. “I used to release a whole bunch of EPs,” John Darnielle wrote in a statement. “I miss the general spiritual realm of the EP and am hereby centering an intention to spend more time thereat.” Listen to the EP and find the full statement, below.
WELCOME WAYWARD TRAVELER TO THE HEX VORTEX. I used to release a whole bunch of EPs. I miss the general spiritual realm of the EP and am hereby centering an intention to spend more time thereat. These songs represent, in part, the first salvo of my resolve. “Almost Every Door” and “Song for Ted Sallis” were written at home in North Carolina sometime during the summer and recorded by Brandon Eggleston at Electrical Audio in Chicago during our three-night stand at Old Town School of Folk Music. “Tucson Fog” is a home recording from last December, things can get a little dark in December. “Hospital Reaction Shot” was produced & engineered by Chris Stamey at Modern Recording, Chapel Hill, NC; Chris also wrote the string arrangements and played bass and electric guitar. Percussion on “Almost Every Door” and “Song for Ted Sallis” by Matt Espy from Dead Rider, maximum respect. Only one of these songs is directly about death but the person or persons in all these songs will someday die. The death one, “Hospital Reaction Shot,” is drawn from a picture of Mickey Deans holding a press conference to inform the world of the death of Judy Garland, to whom he had been married for three months. Yet the press conference is a sham, because Judy Garland lives, as Ted Sallis lives, as do many others thought missing. They can often be found in the vortex shortly before sundown, plotting their return. We live in hope!
In April, The Mountain Goats performed a show at New York City’s City Winery. Before coming on stage, the performed a small session in the cellar with no amps and no planned set list. John Darnielle felt inspired by the “quick and dirty, old-school style” session that he decided to completely strip down their gear that was set for their main show upstairs, thus giving a show that had a “sort of small-ensemble feel, lower in volume but actually higher in intensity.”
Darnielle explained in a statement that while each show will vary, the intimate April tour will reflect the show the prior year. “…Smaller rooms, audible frequencies, up close and personal: this is the general plan,” Darnielle wrote. “Making eye contact with people in the back row, being able to go off-mic when I want to and still be heard. Total visibility.”
Before the string of shows, Darnielle will play a few solo sets, including performances at San Francisco’s Noise Pop. Find the band’s full itinerary below, as well as NYC Taper recordings of “Up the Wolves” and “The Legend of Chavo Guerrero” from the set that inspired the tour.
The Mountain Goats 2016 Tour Dates: 02/24 – Tallahassee, FL @ Sidebar Theater *
02/25 – Gainesville, FL @ High Dive (Frank Gathering) *
02/27 – San Francisco, CA @ Swedish American Hall (Noise Pop) *
02/28 – San Francisco, CA @ Swedish American Hall (Noise Pop) *
04/01 – Woodstock, NY @ Bearsville Theater
04/02 – New Haven, CT @ College Street Music Hall
04/03 – Providence, RI @ Columbus Theatre
04/04 – Portland, ME @ Port City Music Hall
04/06 – Buffalo, NY @ Asbury Hall @ Babeville
04/07 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
04/08 – Ann Arbor, MI @ The Blind Pig
04/09 – Indianapolis, IN @ The Vogue
04/11 – Chicago, IL @ City Winery
04/12 – Chicago, IL @ City Winery
04/13 – Chicago, IL @ City Winery
04/14 – Grand Rapids, MI @ Covenant Fine Arts Center at Calvin College
04/16 – York, PA @ Strand-Capitol Performing Arts Center
04/17 – New York, NY @ City Winery
04/18 – New York, NY @ City Winery
04/19 – New York, NY @ City Winery
The Melodic Tree 