The Mountain Goats

Overview

For a long time I dismissed the Mountain Goats as a bit of a joke band; I linked them with late 90s Triple J novelty tunes — you know 'Cows With Guns', 'Doctor Worm', that type of thing. Then I managed to catch them live a few years ago, and my swift and short-sighted words were quickly eaten. I was gobsmacked by the heart-on-sleeve honesty of John Darnielle, and the simplicity and passion with which they performed their music.

The band started out as John Darnielle's solo project in 1991 and quickly amassed a body of work that people respected for its humour and candour, as well as simple, bittersweet melodies. Songs in which you could hear stories of friends and loved ones, as well as his own shortcomings. After 20 years of songwriting, you'd think you might get stuck, but the band — now completed by Peter Hughes and Jon Wurster — are still making great music, often taking on themes, constructing stories, and sharing literary-folk ideas with people like Sufjan Stevens or the National.

Their latest album is called The Life of the World to Come and it takes on none other than the Good Book itself. But don't freak out, Darnielle is apparently a lapsed Catholic and enjoys the Bible as "a series of stories used to comfort and instruct us", so they won't be turning Sydney Uni into Hillsong; rather, warming your hearts with sweet tunes, no bible bashing.