The Mountain Goats are releasing their seventeenth studio album, In League With Dragons, in just a couple of weeks. A concept record, the album takes place in a fantasy world of wizards and dragons.
Today, the John Darnielle-led band has shared the third single from the album, “Sicilian Crest.” Featuring a frenzied, tense drum line and opulent pianos, the song tells of heretics and prophecies. Darnielle says this about the song:
"'Sicilian Crest,' lyrically, is more reminiscent of early Mountain Goats than anything since a couple of the songs on Heretic Pride — but began life as an in comprehensible title in a notebook, has its genesis in playing around at the piano with my son while a Moridira Hurricane & a Fender Twin on standby stood close at hand, and ended up being a cryptically political dance number with shades of New Order or the Alarm. My bandmates are going to kill me for referencing The Alarm in this announcement, and one of them will kill me twice if I don't mention that the Alarm's drummer's name was 'Twist.' So, should the worst come to pass, please enjoy my funeral, and in the meantime please enjoy this episode of 'I Only Listen to the Mountain Goats.'"
The song comes alongside a new episode of the aforementioned podcast "I Only Listen to the Mountain Goats," which Darnielle co-hosts with Joseph Fink. The podcast is in its second season, with this one focusing on the making of In League With Dragons, delving deep into the creative process.
In League With Dragons is out April 26. The Mountain Goats are playing two sold out shows in Seattle, on Wednesday, September 4 at the Showbox and Thursday, September 5 at Neumos. Listen to “Sicilian Crest” and watch The Mountain Goats’ KEXP in-studio performance from 2017 below.
In League with Dragons is the band's seventeenth studio album
