Like Lou Reed, David Byrne and Bob Dylan before him, lead Mountain Goat John Darnielle has not been blessed with what most would describe as a "traditional" singing voice. However, also like those prolific music legends, Darnielle and his impassioned nasal monotone have a unique approach that fits his formidable collection of songs perfectly.
While several past Mountain Goats releases have been based on overarching concepts such as a dysfunctional couple (Tallahassee), drug addiction (We Shall All be Healed) or Darnielle's own childhood under an abusive, alcoholic stepfather (The Sunset Tree), Heretic Pride seems to forgo the format for a largely unrelated set of narratives. That said, the songs are unified in tone (both musically and lyrically), with a sound that is much more upbeat and immediate than last year's sad, subdued Get Lonely.
“Sax Rohmer #1” starts the proceedings with a click of the sticks, a jaunty acoustic guitar and the theme of returning to a loved one that Darnielle has mined many times in the past (see: “Going to Georgia,” “Cubs in Five,” etc.). However, the pizzicato-string-driven “San Bernardino” provides a story that seems entirely new to the Mountain Goats catalogue, telling the tale of a woman giving birth in a bathtub.
The title track also offers some interesting imagery, with a story told from the perspective of a man pulled from his house, dragged through city streets and condemned to die. These lyrics are juxtaposed with one of the happiest tunes on the album and a triumphant chorus of “I feel so proud to be alive/ I feel so proud when the reckoning arrives.” Darnielle maintains his superb attention to detail with references to the Cheers theme song (“Autoclave”), murdered reggae star Prince Far I (“Sept 15th 1983”) and an obscure black metal band (“Marduk T-Shirt Men’s Room Incident”).
Another highlight is “How to Embrace a Swamp Creature,” a bitterly funny first-person account of a man sleeping with someone after breaking up with her. Over a relatively straightforward arrangement of guitar, violin and airy backing vocals, Darnielle shifts the mood from confusion to desperation as he repeats the words “I’m out of my element/ I can’t breathe.” The rocked up “Lovecraft in Brooklyn” stands out with the sharp drumming of Superchunk’s John Wurster, and closer “Michael Myers Resplendent” is also a stunner.
If one complaint can be made against Heretic Pride, it’s that the material sounds a bit too similar to the last few Mountain Goats albums, and that in places (particularly the straight-up stinker “New Zion”), Darnielle seems to be coasting on autopilot. However, this is merely a complaint from a super-fan, and for anyone less obsessed with the man’s canon, the album offers more than enough moments of emotional resonance.
