Just last month, the Mountain Goats announced a 20th-anniversary reissue of their 2005 LP The Sunset Tree. Now, they’re back with the news of their next album. Through This Fire Across From Peter Balkan is out November 7 via the band’s own label, Cadmean Dawn. Listen to lead single “Armies of the Lord,” which features backing vocals from Lin-Manuel Miranda, below.
John Darnielle explained the new album’s concept in a press statement: “There were 16 men on a fishing boat, but only three survived the storm, and one of those went missing, and is presumed dead. That leaves me and Peter Balkan, whose health is failing as his apocalyptic visions dissipate in the spray at the shore.”
Through This Fire Across From Peter Balkan follows 2023’s Jenny From Thebes. The Replacements’ Tommy Stinson and harpist Mikaela Davis make guest appearances, alongside Miranda and bassist, Cameron Ralston, who joined the band following the departure of longtime bassist and backup vocalist Peter Hughes last year. The Mountain Goats will kick off a North American tour later this month.
Revisit the interview “Inside John Darnielle’s Boiling Brain.”
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The Mountain Goats: Through This Fire Across From Peter Balkan
Through This Fire Across From Peter Balkan:
01 Overture
02 Fishing Boat
03 Cold at Night
04 Dawn of Revelation
05 Your Bandage
06 Peru
07 Through This Fire
08 Rocks in My Pockets
09 Armies of the Lord
10 Your Glow
11 The Lady From Shanghai 2
12 Broken to Begin With