Josh Darnielle wants YOU to know that his stripper name is Candy Teresa.

You know those online stripper name generators? If I had that technology, I'd make a Make Your Own Mountain Goats Song Generator. Then I'd pick up a guitar, start playing them at coffee shops, and tell people they're covers of rare tracks. No one would be the wiser. Pick your favorite: 

1) Sardonic failed relationship metaphor

2) Decaying house/neighborhood/nature/body imagery

3) Alcohol-related scene of solitude/depression/travel

4) Bizarre animal reference

5) Bleak or tawdry setting (for best results, use a Southern town)

Add a generous sprinkling of the word “blood,” click the “submit” button, and voila! Mountain Goats!

As I say this I’m listening to their new album, Heretic Pride, and yeah, the formula works here too. I mean, I know most bands have a recognizable sound or style, otherwise there’d really be no point, but the Mountain Goats are ALWAYS just so…MOUNTAIN GOATY.  So why are they still interesting?

Well, for one thing, these motifs ARE really poignant. The fact that they’re employed so often gives listeners a very developed idea of what must be happening in frontman Josh Darnielle’s brain.  And Darnielle, whose most recent slew of albums have all been almost painfullyintrospective, continues to examine the most thoroughly depressing aspects of his life through such engaging narratives and colorful characters that we can’t help get pulled in.

Josh Darnielle is a damn good songwriter. So to me, this distinct and overarching Mountain Goatiness isn’t really a mark of sameness. It’s more like the classic logo everyone expects to see on a respected designer’s fabulous new clothing line.  And you ask, am I really letting my Project Runway obsession seep into a blog about the Mountain Goats? Well…yes. What the hell. Sure.