“Younger“ - The Mountain Goats

Originally published by Alt Citizen

The Mountain Goats are getting ready to release their seventeenth album, a pseudo rock opera inspired by youthful days playing fantasy board games and sporting cover art so epic I’m compelled to buy a mid-1980s Chevy van and get it airbrushed on the side.

“Younger” is a sunny, upbeat tune that takes its lyrical cues equally from Dungeons & Dragons and The Iliad. Overcoming adversity through careful planning and violent execution is the subject matter, but it’s not all swords-and-sandals. As the camera pans back, John Darnielle describes a scene of kids gathered around a tabletop role playing game, his younger self triumphant. But as an older man the numbers on that twelve-sided die no longer make sense like they used to and the thrill of victory has been replaced by the scars and bruises left by the battle that is real life. It’s a promising first taste and I’m really looking forward to setting out for adventure when In League with Dragons releases April 26th.