Album Review: The Mountain Goats - 'Through this Fire Across from Peter Balkan'

Its safe to say that The Mountain Goats have always been thematic and different. With their new album Through this Fire Across From Peter Balkan, this rings more true than seemingly ever.

Through this Fire Across From Peter Balkan is written as a full-on musical, telling the story of a small crew, shipwrecked on a desert island, where three surviving members are plagued by diminishing resources and apocalyptic visions. (Source via press release)

Starting off the album, John Darnielle (front man and songwriter) sets the scene with a fully instrumental overture. As a former band kid, this was a really nice change in pace from most albums to hear and nicely sets the stage for this musical of an album.

The music on this album is incredibly written, and wonderfully orchestrated. Unfortunately, the lyrics on the first half of the album are oddly paired. This album does not quite hit the mark as some of  The Mountain Goats previous works, including All Hail West Texas and Tallahassee. In this writers opinion, the lyrics are too literal and sound like they were composed more to accompany the music they belong to.

The second half of this album is where Darnielle’s lyrical talents start to shine through. After a rough first half, he finds his footing and creative comfortability that blends the lyrics to the music. "Through this Fire", and "Rocks in Pockets" bring the theme, music, and lyrics together in a way that paints the story that is trying to be told.

The album ends on a high note with "Broken to Begin With", arguably the best song on the album. The Mountain Goats have been toeing the line with musicals throughout their history, and when finally tasking themselves with the challenge, it wasn’t a complete success.

Through This Fire Across From Peter Balkan drops this Friday’, 11/7. A take it or leave it album from a good band that didn’t quite get it right this time.

Rating- 2/5