Written By Peter Black
Through This Fire Across From Peter Balkan by The Mountain Goats Released only a few weeks ago, The Mountain Goats’ 23rd studio album, Through This Fire Across From Peter Balkan, is an indie rock opera, described by lead vocalist and guitarist John Darnielle as a “full-on musical,” following the fictional ship captain, Peter Balkan, as he is shipwrecked on a deserted island from the perspective of the unnamed narrator. This album features several additional musicians, including Karen Galvin on strings, Ben Loughran on synths, Gabriel Mairson on French horn, and Mikaela Davis on harp.
Immediately, the overture is quite unique to the traditional acoustic Mountain Goats sound, with synths and woodwinds, overlaid with harp arpeggios, before introducing the more traditional acoustic indie sounds associated with The Mountain Goats’ work. On their 2023 album Jenny From Thebes, they explored fuller instrumentation, with woodwinds, strings, and brass complementing the band’s acoustic guitar and indie vocals, and they revisit some of these elements in tracks like “Fishing Boat” and “Cold at Night.”
Listeners might be surprised to hear a familiar voice on some of the tracks, particularly “Cold at Night,” “Through The Fire,” “Armies of the Lord,” and “Broken to Begin With,” as Tony Award-winning actor and composer Lin-Manuel Miranda supports harmonies behind John Darnielle.
The 4th track on the album, “Dawn of Revelation,” settles into some familiar rock territory with driving guitars and heavy percussion over shouted vocals reminiscent of other indie bands like AJJ. The tone grows tender with heavy reverb on an electric guitar in “Your Bandage,” while the narrator replaces Captain Peter Balkan’s bandage, followed by a swell of slow strings.
“Through This Fire,” the titular single from this album, opens with jazzy saxophone riffs before settling into a funkier beat. Much of this album could be described as funk-inspired, with guitar and bass influences from bands like Phish. The song progresses into an instrumental interlude featuring acoustic guitar and strings, then continues into the final verse.
“The Lady From Shanghai 2” was originally released on Songs for Petronius (1997) and then again on Bitter Melon Farm (2002), a collection of B-sides and rarities from John Darnielle’s solo years. This studio release features a romantic, tropical jazz waltz as a short interlude between the drama of the shipwreck.
While I haven’t particularly adored the last few albums by The Mountain Goats, I found Through This Fire Across From Peter Balkan to be an interesting continuation of the band’s love of long-form storytelling. The story of the fictional shipwreck and subsequent island survival is an intense one, full of emotional twists and turns underscored by full orchestration. Most of the tracks on this album are not quite recognisable as being by The Mountain Goats, which could be disappointing for some listeners who are fans of the classic indie-style reduced instrumentation of the earlier albums, such as The Sunset Tree (2005), All Hail West Texas (2002), and Tallahassee (2002). It seems that in Through This Fire Across From Peter Balkan, The Mountain Goats focused their creative energy primarily on orchestration, rather than lyricism, as I unfortunately didn’t find any particular lines that stuck with me as I have so often with their previous work. Overall, it’s quite enjoyable and worth a few re-listens, though I am unsure if I’ll return to it in the future.