Pitchfork

The Mountain Goats sound more like a full band than ever on latest album Heretic Pride, but being a rapid-strumming singer/songwriter means you can play your newest songs without having to teach them to the rest of the guys. During the Mountain Goats' recent show at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, John Darnielle took the stage solo to play "Sign of the Crow", a song he says he wrote "in a motel room in Alaska about three weeks ago." It's the kind of detail-rich vignette this guy's been churning out ever since his boombox days, drawing connections between "the pleasures of the flesh", "the pleasures of the spirit", and "the bodies of the faithful" as he describes French troops in a Franciscan abbey. And porno. Darnielle's acoustic-guitar chord progressions here aren't the most interesting he's ever done-- then again, there are only so many combinations, and almost everybody uses this one sooner or later-- but the chorus delivers the money shot: "Of the several things that you have to do today/ You're gonna regret one/ This generation asks for a sign/ It's never gonna get one." The Boston Phoenix was there to take the video; you can also see a solo cover of Rodney Crowell's "Ain't Living Long Like This" and a full-band "Heretic Pride" over on their site. Here's hoping Darnielle feels better after having to cancel the Mountain Goats' Australian tour due to "personal medical reasons."