Songs for Pierre Chuvin | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | April 10, 2020 | |||
Recorded | March 2020 | |||
Genre | Lo-fi | |||
Length | 27:17 | |||
Label | Merge Records | |||
Producer | John Darnielle | |||
The Mountain Goats chronology | ||||
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Songs for Pierre Chuvin is the eighteenth studio album by the Mountain Goats, released on April 10, 2020. [1] It is the first album since 2002's All Hail West Texas to feature only the band's frontman, John Darnielle, as well as the first since then to be recorded entirely on a boombox. [2] [3] [4] [5] The album was first released on cassette and digital, with CD and vinyl releases following in 2021. [6]
Songs for Pierre Chuvin was recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic in an effort to help the band and some of their crew make ends meet in lieu of a postponed tour in the United States. [2] Inspiration for the songs, as well as the album's title, largely came from French historian Pierre Chuvin's book A Chronicle of the Last Pagans . [1] [3] [4] [5] Darnielle recorded the tracks over a 10-day period in March 2020, releasing the songs "Exegetic Chains", "Until Olympius Returns", and "For the Snakes" on the band's YouTube channel prior to the full release.
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Pitchfork | 8.1/10 [7] |
Exclaim! | 8/10 [8] |
Tom Hull | B+ ( ) [9] |
The online magazine Pitchfork rated Songs for Pierre Chuvin 8.1 out of 10, calling the album "a brief but thoughtful collection marked by old-school production". [7]
All tracks are written by John Darnielle
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Aulon Raid" | 2:13 |
2. | "Until Olympius Returns" | 2:12 |
3. | "Last Gasp at Calama" | 1:58 |
4. | "For the Snakes" | 2:09 |
5. | "The Wooded Hills Along the Black Sea" | 2:57 |
6. | "January 31, 438" | 2:22 |
7. | "Hopeful Assassins of Zeno" | 3:15 |
8. | "Their Gods Do Not Have Surgeons" | 3:34 |
9. | "Going to Lebanon 2" | 2:26 |
10. | "Exegetic Chains" | 4:11 |
Total length: | 27:17 |
Chart (2020) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (ARIA) [10] | 86 |
Scottish Albums (OCC) [11] | 13 |
US Billboard 200 [12] | 152 |
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard) [13] | 7 |
US Folk Albums (Billboard) [14] | 4 |
US Independent Albums (Billboard) [15] | 19 |
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) [16] | 23 |
John Vanderslice is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and recording engineer. He is the owner and founder of Tiny Telephone, an analog recording studio with locations in San Francisco Mission District and North Oakland. He released 10 full-length albums and 5 remix records and EPs on Dead Oceans and Barsuk Records and has collaborated with musicians such as The Mountain Goats, St. Vincent, and Spoon.
The Mountain Goats are an American band formed in Claremont, California, by singer-songwriter John Darnielle. The band is currently based in Durham, North Carolina. For many years, the sole member of the Mountain Goats was Darnielle, despite the plural moniker. Although he remains the core member of the band, he has worked with a variety of collaborators over time, including bassist and vocalist Peter Hughes, drummer Jon Wurster, multi-instrumentalist Matt Douglas, singer-songwriter Franklin Bruno, bassist and vocalist Rachel Ware, singer-songwriter/producer John Vanderslice, guitarist Kaki King, and multi-instrumentalist Annie Clark.
John Darnielle is an American musician, novelist, and actor best known as the primary, and originally sole, member of the American band the Mountain Goats, for which he is the writer, composer, guitarist, pianist, and vocalist. He has written three novels: Wolf in White Van (2014), Universal Harvester (2017), and Devil House (2022).
All Hail West Texas is the sixth studio album by the Mountain Goats. After the slight increase in production values on The Coroner's Gambit album of 2000, All Hail West Texas was the last Mountain Goats album recorded entirely on John Darnielle's trademark Panasonic RX-FT500 boombox until 2020's Songs for Pierre Chuvin. Similarly, it marked the end of an era for the band, as it was the last album by the Mountain Goats to feature only John Darnielle until 2020.
The Sunset Tree is the ninth studio album by the Mountain Goats, released on April 26, 2005 by 4AD. The album's songs revolve around the house John Darnielle grew up in and the people who lived there, including his mother, sister, stepfather, friends, and enemies.
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Heretic Pride is the eleventh studio album by the Mountain Goats, released in the UK on February 18, 2008, and in the US on February 19 by 4AD, their sixth album on the label. It is the first to feature the band's lineup of John Darnielle, Peter Hughes, and Jon Wurster. The album was produced by Scott Solter and John Vanderslice.
The Mountain Goats are an American, Durham, North Carolina–based band, led by American singer-songwriter John Darnielle. Darnielle began recording in 1991, and is known for his highly literate lyrics and his lo-fi recording style. The Mountain Goats' albums have featured a constantly changing line-up of musicians, with Darnielle the only constant; when performing live, the band commonly comprises only Darnielle backed by Peter Hughes on bass guitar and Jon Wurster playing drums. Their discography consists of 21 studio albums, four compilation albums, two live albums, ten demo albums, 18 solo extended plays, six collaborative extended plays, and 24 singles.
The Life of the World to Come is the twelfth studio album by the Mountain Goats, released on October 6, 2009. The third track, "Genesis 3:23", was released as a free download via the band's website on July 28. The album peaked at #110 on the Billboard Top 200 albums on its chart debut.
Cloud Nothings is an American indie rock band from Cleveland, Ohio, United States, founded by singer-songwriter Dylan Baldi. It currently consists of lead singer and guitarist Dylan Baldi, drummer Jayson Gerycz, and bassist Chris Brown.
"Lovecraft in Brooklyn" is the eighth track on the Mountain Goats' Heretic Pride album released in 2008 on 4AD.
Beat the Champ is the fifteenth studio album by The Mountain Goats, released on April 7, 2015 on Merge Records. The release is a concept album on professional wrestling, though frontman John Darnielle has stated that several of its songs are "really more about death and difficult-to-navigate interior spaces than wrestling."
Goths is the sixteenth studio album by the Mountain Goats, released on May 19, 2017, on Merge Records. The band has stated that Goths was inspired by an adolescence listening to The Cure, Bauhaus, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Joy Division, as well as hearing songs on the radio station KROQ-FM. The album also marked the band's first release as a four-piece outfit, having added touring member Matt Douglas (keyboards/woodwinds) as a permanent fixture of the band following the By, For, and About the Trees Southeastern Fall Tour that supported their previous record, Beat the Champ.
In League With Dragons is the seventeenth studio album by the Mountain Goats, released on April 26, 2019, on Merge Records. 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.
Pierre Chuvin was a French hellenist and historian. He was specialized on ancient Greece and Greek mythology, as well as modern Central Asia and the Turkic-speaking world.
Getting Into Knives is the nineteenth studio album by indie folk band the Mountain Goats, released on October 23, 2020, through Merge Records. The album was recorded in March 2020 over six days at Sam Philips Recording in Memphis, in the same room where psychobilly band the Cramps tracked their 1980 debut album Songs the Lord Taught Us. Getting Into Knives was produced, engineered, and mixed by Matt Ross-Spang, who previously engineered In League with Dragons (2019). In addition to being available on streaming and download services, the album also saw physical release on CD, vinyl, and cassette.
Dark in Here is the 20th studio album by indie folk band the Mountain Goats, released June 25, 2021 through Merge Records. The album was recorded in March 2020, just one week after Getting Into Knives (2020), at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Dark in Here was produced by Matt Ross-Spang, who also produced Getting Into Knives and engineered In League with Dragons (2019). In addition to being available on streaming and download services, the album was released physically on CD and vinyl.
Bleed Out is the 21st studio album by indie folk band the Mountain Goats, released on August 19, 2022, through Merge Records. The album was written between December 2020 and January 2021, and recorded immediately following this at Betty's in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Bleed Out was produced by Alicia Bognanno of Bully. The album was preceded by the lead single "Training Montage".
A Chronicle of the Last Pagans is a 1990 popular history book on pagan retreat in the Roman Empire, written by historian Pierre Chuvin and published by Harvard University Press.
Jenny from Thebes is the upcoming 22nd studio album by indie folk band the Mountain Goats, slated for release on October 27, 2023, through Merge Records. The album serves as a sequel to the band's 2002 release All Hail West Texas, and is structured as a rock opera which tells the story of the character "Jenny". Lyricist John Darnielle describes the album as being about "the individual and society", and about Jenny's "southwestern ranch style house, the people for whom that house is a place of safety, and the west Texas town that is uncomfortable with its existence."
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