The Mountain Goats
Through This Fire Across From Peter Balkan
(Cadmean Dawn Records)
⭑⭑⭑☆☆

THE MOUNTAIN GOATS — essentially the indie musical vehicle for US singer-songwriter John Darnielle since the early ‘90s — are no strangers to concept albums. Indeed, their career highs of Tallahassee (2002) and The Sunset Tree (2005) are some of the best examples of the genre.

Originating in a dream, the impressive Through This Fire Across From Peter Balkan confirms why the hyper-literate Darnielle has amassed such a cult following over the years, and remains a voice for misfits and outsiders everywhere.

Telling the story of a small crew shipwrecked on a desert island, there’s some great songs here — from instrumental opener Overture with its ’70s TV show-style piano riff to the ominous grandeur of Armies Of The Lord. “Who would prepare for peace, take up the sword,” sings Darnielle, who often includes Christian themes in his songs, on the latter.

Dave
The Boy Who Played The Harp
(Neighbourhood)
⭑⭑⭑⭑☆

NOW on his third album, remarkably Dave — AKA Brixton-born David Omoregie — is only 27 years old.

The socially conscious hip-hop star has achieved massive success already — his 2019 debut won the Mercury Music Prize and when he performed at the Brit Awards the following year he found time to call then-prime minister Boris Johnson a racist.

With assistance from artists including Kano and James Blake, The Boy Who Played The Harp is a lyrically dense, introspective set, both State of the Nation and State of Dave’s mental health.

Highlights include the astonishing Fairchild, a powerful track about the dangers women have to deal with every day featuring Nicole Blakk, and the Bible-inspired, self-questioning title track, which ranges across a multitude of topics including World War II, Patrice Lumumba, Palestine and Chris Kaba.

An essential voice for our turbulent times.

Red River Dialect
Basic Country Mustard
(Hintergrounds)
⭑⭑⭑☆☆

NOW on their sixth longplayer, Cornwall’s Red River Dialect continue to create captivating folk-rock that defies easy categorisation.

With the set recorded in just three days, there is often a droning intensity to their sound, with leadsinger and songwriter David John Morris’s compelling voice backed by an organic mix of guitar, keys, fiddle, harp, bass and drums.

Torrey Canyon, Lyonesse, about the huge oil spill off Land’s End in 1967, makes quite a din, with a muscularity that brings to mind the more forceful songs of The Levellers. Elsewhere, Again, Again is based on a refrain which Morris recited daily as a Buddhist monk in Canada, while the title song includes the kind of insistent, looping melody and poetic lyrics that will be familiar to fans of the band’s previous work.

Another impressive album from the West Country outfit.