"Heretic Pride" another Mountain Goats storybook

The Mountain Goats: "Heretic Pride"

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Listening to a song by The Mountain Goats is like sitting around a campfire listening to a story.

John Darnielle is an imaginative storyteller, and each song has its own depth and reach into whatever topic he feels like writing about. "Heretic Price" follows that same acoustic-folk-storytelling formula perfectly.

Those not familiar with his group might have heard him on Aesop Rock's "None Shall Pass," performing on the nine-minute "Coffee." Darnielle can't be considered a rapper, but much like hip-hop, his music focuses on lyrics more than anything else.

"Heretic Pride" is full of surprises. The lyrics are magically poetic, contrasting with Darnielle's poignant delivery that rarely sounds like singing.

"Tianchi Lake" beautifully describes a journey to Heavenly Lake and its fabled monster: "No one at the lakeside now/ moon up in the sky/ night birds in the dragon spruce/ moaning long and high/ backstroking on the surface/ moonlight on its face/ floats the Tianchi monster/ staring into space."

Darnielle's vocal delivery isn't deceptive. It's easy to understand every word he says. From him describing an experience in Brooklyn to instructions on "How To Embrace a Swamp Creature," Darnielle never purposely loses listeners.

Whereas the group's previous release, "Get Lonely," had a more personal flavor, "Heretic Pride" is more upbeat and excited. Still, some tracks such as "San Bernardino" and "So Desperate" take it easy on tempo.

Some songs are too similar: "Autoclave" and "Sax Rohmer #1" have the same acoustic beginning, and the opening drums on "New Zion" and the title track sound too alike as well. The difference undoubtedly remains in the lyrics.

When the songs do differ with little musical additions - an electric guitar in "Lovecraft In Brooklyn," orchestra on "San Bernadino" - the overall result sounds too cluttered and surreal. The music is better kept as a simple accessory to the poetry.

There's really only enough you can take of The Mountain Goats before it becomes overwhelming. Darnielle isn't much of a singer, so his vocals are direct and strangled at times, backed up by a jittery acoustic and sometimes instruments that always seem like they don't belong there. It doesn't matter how interesting the lyrics are - maybe they're better left to be read on paper.

It takes a lot of patience and time to fall in love with a Mountain Goats album, but once the poetry in musical motion starts to sink in, the result is captivating.