Today, the Mountain Goats release their 22nd full-length album Jenny from Thebes, a widescreen musical in scope, a melodrama of richly detailed characters and sweeping emotions as evidenced by the album’s singles “Clean Slate,” “Fresh Tattoo,” and “Murder at the 18th St. Garage.” Listen to Jenny from Thebes wherever you stream music, and grab a copy on CD, limited custard-colored cassette, LP, and limited “Custom Kawasaki” yellow and black Peak Vinyl in the Merge store!

A sequel to their beloved 2002 album All Hail West Texas, Jenny from Thebes is a lush collection of showtunes, pushing John Darnielle as a vocalist and the Mountain Goats as a band, broadening their sonic palette once again by leaning into influences like Godspell, Jim Steinman, and The Cars.

The album, named one of the most anticipated releases of the fall by The New York Times, Pitchfork, and The A.V. Club, was produced by Grammy-winning producer/engineer Trina Shoemaker and features guitar by Alicia Bognanno (Bully), horn and string arrangements by Matt Douglas, and backing vocals from Kathy Valentine of The Go-Go’s and Matt Nathanson.

“Today we release Jenny from Thebes, recorded in Tulsa earlier this year with legendary producer Trina Shoemaker at the helm,” says John Darnielle. “This is the first album since Tallahassee to consist entirely of songs about a character or characters from previous songs. That character is Jenny, a woman who rides a motorcycle, was beloved of an unnamed narrator who thought of their life together as resembling that of the pirate—free, criminal, reckless, and joyful—and who, when we first meet her, is about to disappear. In these songs she hasn’t yet escaped. As with every living human being, there are as many versions of Jenny’s story as there are possible futures; this one’s a little sad and a little sweet and a lot violent. The songs I wrote for the album that we didn’t end up using were perhaps less sad and more chaotic, but still just as violent: what can I say? Some stories merit a little violence. This one’s about somebody who gets an eviction notice she didn’t deserve. Who is to blame when the cleaning crew comes through,I want to ask: the one who made the mess or the one who insisted somebody needed to clean it up? We are so proud of this record. Enjoy!”

The Mountain Goats are currently on tour in support of Jenny from Thebes. All dates below.

the Mountain Goats on tour:
Oct 27 Lubbock, TX – Cactus Theater
Oct 28 Dallas, TX – Longhorn Ballroom
Oct 29 Houston, TX – Heights Theater
Nov 24 Raleigh, NC – The Rialto*
Nov 25 Raleigh, NC – The Rialto*
Dec 01 Greensboro, NC – Hangar 1819
Dec 02 Wilmington, DE – The Queen
Dec 03 Portland, ME – Aura
Dec 05 Burlington, VT – Higher Ground
Dec 06 Hartford, CT – Infinity Hall
Dec 07 Buffalo, NY – Town Ballroom
Dec 08 Homer, NY – Center for the Arts of Homer
Dec 10 Pittsburgh, PA – Thunderbird Music Hall
Dec 12 Athens, GA – Georgia Theatre
Dec 13 Pensacola, FL – Vinyl Music Hall
Dec 14 St. Petersburg, FL – The Floridian
Dec 15 Jacksonville, FL – Intuition Ale Works
Jan 18 Charlotte, NC – Neighborhood Theatre^
Jan 19 Birmingham, AL – Saturn^
Jan 20 Baton Rouge, LA – Chelsea's^
Jan 21 Little Rock, AR – Revolution! Music Room^
Jan 23 Columbia, MO – The Blue Note^
Jan 24 Oklahoma City, OK – Tower Theatre^
Jan 26 El Paso, TX – Lowbrow Palace^
Jan 27 Roswell, NM – The Liberty^
Jan 28 Albuquerque, NM – El Rey^
Jan 30 Las Vegas, NV – 24 Oxford^
Jan 31 Tucson, AZ – Rialto Theatre^
Feb 01 Flagstaff, AZ – Orpheum Theater^

*John Darnielle solo show
^John Darnielle + Matt Douglas duo show