Before we start talking about the new Mountain Goats track, "Etruscans," released this morning as part of the Our First 100 Days project, let's look briefly at John Darnielle's most recent political activity.
John Darnielle is a fucking treasure.Now, the song. "Hidden Truth" is something of a throwback for Darnielle, a grainy bedroom demo that elevates his wry lyricism and gentle melodic tendencies, eschewing hi-fi production. Unlike "Andrew Eldritch Is Moving Back to Leeds," the lead single from Mountain Goats' forthcoming Goths LP, "Etruscans" is stripped of all but an acoustic guitar, Darnielle's voice, and crackling white noise; the inspiration is an ancient Italian civilization, rather than leftfield heavy metal tales. He remains one of indie music's greatest storytellers.Listen to the track below. Goths, remember, is out May 19.
Alex Ross can't kill spiders, even when he's wearing his big boy boots. Follow him on Twitter.