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In League with Dragons

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In League With Dragons
Studio album by
the Mountain Goats
ReleasedApril 26, 2019
Recorded2018–2019
GenreAlternative rock[1]
Length48:22
LabelMerge
ProducerOwen Pallett
The Mountain Goats chronology
Goths
(2017) 		In League With Dragons
(2019) 		Songs for Pierre Chuvin
(2020)

In League With Dragons is the seventeenth studio album by the Mountain Goats, released on April 26, 2019, on Merge Records.[2][3] Inspired by tabletop role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, the album has been described as a "partial rock opera" with influences from noir literature.[2][4]

Background

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Indie rock band the Mountain Goats released their 16th full-length studio album, Goths, on May 19, 2017, via Merge Records.[5] The album was inspired by John Darnielle's childhood enjoyment of gothic rock.[6] After supporting Jason Isbell on tour in June and July 2017, the Mountain Goats went on a North American headlining tour from September through December 2017 in support of Goths.[7]

Release

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The album was announced on January 28, 2019. The announcement was accompanied by a live streaming event on Facebook and Twitch, hosted by Wizards of the Coast. The band also released three singles from the album: "Younger",[3] "Cadaver Sniffing Dog",[8] and "Sicilian Crest". The release of "Sicilian Crest" was accompanied by an hour-long discussion about the making of the song by frontman John Darnielle and podcaster Joseph Fink, on the podcast I Only Listen to the Mountain Goats; season two of the podcast will ultimately consist of a track-by-track discussion of each song on the album.[9]

The album was released on April 26, 2019, on Merge Records. Special editions of the album come with an additional 7-inch record, Sentries in the Ambush EP, featuring two non-album tracks.

Track listing

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All tracks are written by John Darnielle

No.TitleLength
1."Done Bleeding"4:38
2."Younger"5:52
3."Passaic 1975"3:55
4."Clemency for the Wizard King"2:47
5."Possum by Night"2:59
6."In League with Dragons"3:11
7."Doc Gooden"4:19
8."Going Invisible 2"3:05
9."Waylon Jennings Live!"3:15
10."Cadaver Sniffing Dog"3:55
11."An Antidote for Strychnine"6:04
12."Sicilian Crest"4:22
Total length:48:22
Sentries in the Ambush EP (special edition bonus 7")
No.TitleLength
13."Sentries in the Ambush"2:48
14."Divided Sky Lane"3:38

Reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic77/100[10]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[11]
Consequence of SoundB−[12]
The Guardian[13]
Pitchfork7.4/10 [14]
Rolling Stone[15]

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 77 (based on 14 reviews) indicating "generally favorable reviews".[10]

Personnel

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  • John Darnielle – vocals, piano, lyrics, composition
  • Peter Hughes – bass
  • Jon Wurster – drums, percussion
  • Matt Douglas – woodwinds, guitars, vocals
  • Thom Gill – guitars
  • Johnny Spence – organ, Memorymoog, piano, Wurlitzer, synth
  • Bram Gielen – guitars, piano, synth
  • Owen Pallett – piano, organ, guitar, production
  • Dan Dugmore – pedal steel
  • Robert Bailey – vocal arrangements, vocals
  • Everett Drake – vocals
  • Jason Eskridge – vocals
  • Michael Mishaw – vocals
  • The Macedonian Radio Symphonic Orchestra – strings
    • strings arranged by Owen Pallett, conducted by Oleg Kondratenko, engineered by Giorgi Hristovski with Atanas Babaleski
  • Matt Ross-Spang – engineering
  • Shani Gandhi – mixing
  • Brent Lambert – mastering
  • Elton D'Souza – artwork
  • Daniel Murphy – design

Charts

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Chart (2019) Peak
position
Australian Digital Albums (ARIA)[16] 33
Scottish Albums (OCC)[17] 65
US Billboard 200[18] 110
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[19] 9
US Folk Albums (Billboard)[20] 5
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[21] 16

References

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  1. ^ "In League with Dragons". Bandcamp. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  2. ^ a b Kreps, Daniel (January 28, 2019). "Mountain Goats Create 'Dragon Noir' Genre With New Album 'In League With Dragons'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
  3. ^ a b Bote, Joshua (January 28, 2019). "The Mountain Goats Announces Dungeons & Dragons-Inspired Album". NPR. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
  4. ^ Schatz, Lake (January 28, 2019). "The Mountain Goats announce new album, In League with Dragons, share 'Younger': Stream". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
  5. ^ Geslani, Michelle (May 15, 2017). "The Mountain Goats release new album Goths: Stream". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  6. ^ Lindsay, Cam (May 17, 2017). "John Darnielle Lived the Teenage Goth Life I Never Did". Vice. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  7. ^ Sacher, Andrew (June 5, 2017). "The Mountain Goats announce fall tour dates". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  8. ^ Martin, Clare. "The Mountain Goats Will Bloody up Your Day with Their New Single "Cadaver Sniffing Dog"". Paste. Archived from the original on April 11, 2019. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
  9. ^ "I Only Listen to the Mountain Goats Season 2". I Only Listen to the Mountain Goats. Nightvale Presents. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
  10. ^ a b In League with Dragons by The Mountain Goats, retrieved June 8, 2019
  11. ^ "In League with Dragons - The Mountain Goats | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  12. ^ Clark, Tyler (April 24, 2019). "The Mountain Goats Prove Adept Dungeon Masters on In League with Dragons". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  13. ^ Hann, Michael (April 26, 2019). "Mountain Goats: In League With Dragons review – deliciously detailed indie rock". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  14. ^ "The Mountain Goats: In League With Dragons". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  15. ^ Dolan, Jon (April 26, 2019). "Review: Mountain Goats Conjure Sad Wizards and Other Fading Heroes on 'In League With Dragons'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  16. ^ "ARIA Australian Top 50 Digital Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. May 6, 2019. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  17. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  18. ^ "The Mountain Goats Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  19. ^ "The Mountain Goats Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
  20. ^ "The Mountain Goats Chart History (Top Americana/Folk Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
  21. ^ "The Mountain Goats Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
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