One of the words that John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats used when discussing the direction for new album Dark in Here (out June 25) was “wild.” As the quartet’s bassist Peter Hughes tells it: “Not wild in the sense of abandon—these aren’t those kind of songs. But wild in the sense of something undomesticated, untamable… You can fight the calamity all you want, but either way, it’s going to demand your surrender.”

That particular brand of wild can be felt throughout the title track to Dark in Here, recorded at the fabled FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals with a handful of local legends. Listen as Spooner Oldham’s Hammond organ and Will McFarlane’s whammy-bar Telecaster inflate the narrator’s spider-hole revenge fantasy to widescreen spaghetti-western proportions!

Like the most recent Mountain Goats releases Getting Into Knives and Songs for Pierre Chuvin, Dark in Here was recorded in March 2020. Within the credits of Dark in Here, Darnielle notes, “If you’re looking for a governing theme here, it’s calamity, as all the songs are either anticipating one or reflecting one that’s already happened.”

Preview more of Dark in Here by listening to “The Slow Parts on Death Metal Albums” and “Mobile” before pre-ordering the album on a plethora of formats in the Merge store or the Mountain Goats store. After the incredible success of the band’s Jordan Lake Sessions, the Mountain Goats return to the road in August; a full list of dates can be found below.

The Mountain Goats on tour:
Aug 06 Asheville, NC – The Orange Peel [SOLD OUT]
Aug 07 Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse [SOLD OUT]
Aug 08 Birmingham, AL – Saturn
Aug 10 Austin, TX – Mohawk [SOLD OUT]
Aug 11 Austin, TX – Mohawk
Aug 12 Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall
Aug 13 San Antonio, TX – Paper Tiger
Aug 15 Santa Fe, NM – Meow Wolf [SOLD OUT]
Aug 16 Santa Fe, NM – Meow Wolf [SOLD OUT]
Aug 19 Englewood, CO – Gothic Theatre
Aug 21 Fort Collins, CO – Washington’s
Aug 23 Milwaukee, WI – The Pabst Theater
Aug 24 Evanston, IL – SPACE [SOLD OUT]
Aug 25 Evanston, IL – SPACE [SOLD OUT]
Aug 26 Detroit, MI – Royal Oak Music Theatre
Sep 16 Dallas, TX – Kessler Theater* [SOLD OUT]
Sep 17 Oklahoma City, OK – Tower Theatre*
Sep 24 Holyoke, MA – Gateway City Arts Center* [SOLD OUT]
Sep 25 Woodstock, NY – Levon Helm Studios* [SOLD OUT]
Sep 26 Bethlehem, PA – Musikfest Cafe at the ArtsQuest* [SOLD OUT]
*John Darnielle solo