| Undercard | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 2010 | |||
| Genre | Indie rock, folk | |||
| Label | Merge Records [1] | |||
| The Extra Lens chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | (77%) [2] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [3] |
| Robert Christgau | A− [4] |
| Pitchfork | 7.9/10 [5] |
| SPIN |   [6] |
| Tiny Mix Tapes | [7] |
Undercard is an album by indie-rock band The Extra Lens, a band made up John Darnielle and Franklin Bruno. [8] [9] The album was released on October 19, 2010.
Darnielle recorded his parts, after which Bruno added more instrumentation. [10]
Reception to Undercard was generally positive, according to review aggregator Metacritic. [2]
PopMatters wrote that "not all of the compositions here reach their potential, but Bruno almost consistently nails his efforts to create the right mood for Darnielle’s storytelling." [11]
The Band is the second studio album by the Canadian-American rock band the Band, released on September 22, 1969. It is also known as The Brown Album. According to Rob Bowman's liner notes for the 2000 reissue, The Band has been viewed as a concept album, with the songs focusing on people, places and traditions associated with an older version of Americana. Thus, the songs on this album draw on historic themes for "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down", "King Harvest " and "Jawbone".
Spoon is an American rock band from Austin, Texas, consisting of members Britt Daniel, Jim Eno (drums), Alex Fischel, Gerardo Larios and Ben Trokan. The band was formed in Austin in October 1993 by Daniel and Eno. Critics have described the band's musical style as rock, pop, art rock, and experimental rock.
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).
The Extra Lens, formerly known as The Extra Glenns, is a band made up of Franklin Bruno and John Darnielle. The band acts as a side project for both artists, and stayed underground throughout the 1990s, recording tracks for singles and some compilations. Both artists primarily concentrate on their own solo work, though as their popularity has grown, they have continued to work together.
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.
Tallahassee is the seventh studio album by the Mountain Goats. It was the band's second new album to be released in 2002, and it marked quite a few changes. After releasing records on small record labels such as Shrimper, Ajax, and Emperor Jones, Tallahassee was the first Mountain Goats album to be released on a widely known independent label, the British alternative rock label 4AD. It was also the first Mountain Goats album to have an official single released, for the song "See America Right."
We Shall All Be Healed is the eighth studio album by The Mountain Goats. The album focuses on semi-fictional accounts of band leader John Darnielle's years as a teenager, particularly his friends' and acquaintances' experiences in California and in Portland, Oregon, as methamphetamine addicts. As The Mountain Goats' official website puts it: "All of the songs on We Shall All Be Healed are based on people John used to know. Most of them are probably dead or in jail by now." Like Tallahassee, but unlike the rest of Darnielle's repertoire up to its release, We Shall All Be Healed was recorded with a full band in a recording studio, and produced by John Vanderslice, as opposed to The Mountain Goats' previous practice of recording at home on a boom box with, at most, one or two backup vocalists or a bassist. "Palmcorder Yajna", when played in concert, is often played with the backing of members of one or more of the opening acts on tour with The Mountain Goats. The song "Cotton" was featured in an episode of the television series Weeds.
Franklin Bruno is an American singer-songwriter, academic and writer originally from Upland, California. He has been a member of Nothing Painted Blue since its inception in 1986.
Two Gallants are a guitar/drum duo from San Francisco, California. Consisting of Adam Stephens and Tyson Vogel, the band formed in 2002. Two Gallants are often described as punk and blues-infused folk rock, with the band's sound developing deeper into rock and roll on later releases. The band has released five studio albums, two EPs, and several singles since 2004 as well as touring extensively.
Dizzy Spells is an album by Dutch post-punk band The Ex. It is the band's 11th studio album and 18th overall, and was produced by Steve Albini who had also produced its predecessor. Dizzy Spells was also be The Ex’s final studio album to feature bass guitarist Luc who would end up leaving the band after being a member for 20 years.
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.
Martial Arts Weekend is an album by indie-rock band The Extra Glenns, a band made up John Darnielle and Franklin Bruno. The album was released in 2002.
American Slang is the third studio album by New Jersey–based rock group the Gaslight Anthem. It was released on June 15, 2010, on SideOneDummy Records, which released their previous album, The '59 Sound. The album was produced by 'The '59 Sound producer Ted Hutt.
A Very She & Him Christmas is the first Christmas album and the third studio album by the folk/indie rock band She & Him, consisting of actress and musician Zooey Deschanel and musician M. Ward. The album was released on October 24, 2011, and features several covers of classic holiday songs. The twelve-track album is distributed by Merge Records and proceeds from every album sold are being donated to 826 National, a nonprofit network of writing and tutoring centers.
Run is the second studio album by American rock band Awolnation. It was released on March 17, 2015, through Red Bull Records. It was the band's first studio album in four years, following up Megalithic Symphony (2011).
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."
St. Lenox is an American indie pop outfit from Columbus, Ohio, United States, helmed by Andrew Choi. On stage, St. Lenox consists of Andrew Choi and a rotating list of musicians from Columbus and New York City, including Chris Hills, Nick Federinko, Jorge Vega, Brandon Vitruls and Jesse Waits. St. Lenox is currently on the Don Giovanni Records label.
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.
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.
