The wonderfully-monikered MOUNTAIN GOATS are the brainchild of John Darnielle, who has previously released at least one previous gem in "Tallahassee" and has another potential classic waiting around the corner in his New Year album "We Shall All Be Healed." I say that with confidence as it has one track called "Linda Blair Was Born Innocent" and - even if you're not a fan of "The Exorcist" - the three tracks on this trailer EP, "Palmcorder Yajna" are things of weird, woozy beauty and an absolute breeze to listen to.
Christ only knows what the title "Palmcorder Yajna" actually means, but based on Darnielle's strange narrative, it appears to involve dreams and cameras, with a whole load of curious lyrics such as: "And the headstones climbed up the hills" registering on first hearing. Can't say I personally have many dreams as good as this one, but then I probably don't eat enough cheese. There again, I don't often get around to recording songs that sound like a low-watt, semi-acoustic take on The Lemonheads harmonising with Elliott Smith's ghost, while Jeffrey Lewis scribbles lyrics in the corner, which is pretty much the scenario with "Palmcorder Yajna."
Magnificently, the EP's two other tunes retain the kooked-but-brilliant standard. "Butter Teeth" is another slice of acoustically-inclined, almost-Americana written in a dusty corner, with drums rolling languidly and Darnielle again relaying lyrics shot through with genius (e.g: "I was permenently at the point of exhaustion, you were gorgeous"), while the closing "Snakeheads" is arguably better still, based around a bassline from "The Pink Panther" theme and the simplest piano chords. This time the storyboard appears to involve a ride across Minnesota towing a U-haul. Well, what else would you wanna write about, eh?
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Yessirree, John Darnielle clearly has what it takes to carve out his own special niche in the weird, but attractive US underground semi-acoustic stakes. The mountain goat is - by nature - the hardiest of upland breeds, able to survive the most inclement conditions, so it seems Darnielle has chosen his moniker wisely as here he positively thrives.
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