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The Mountain Goats’ latest album, “Through This Fire Across From Peter Balkan,” documents the journey of a fictional shipwrecked crew and the narrator’s struggles after being one of the only survivors. It features 12 songs infused with sweeping instrumentals, calming motifs, storytelling, and backing vocals from Lin-Manuel Miranda. The album is conceptually interesting and has moving moments, but it is not as musically striking as it promises to be, and the dramatism of the plot is difficult to connect with.
“Overture,” the album’s introduction, is an enjoyable instrumental piece which sets up an orchestral theme with string instruments and piano, giving listeners a sense that they are about to listen to a theatrical oeuvre. “Fishing Boat,” which follows, creates a poignant mood with retrospective lyrics like “Seize the moment before it’s gone / 16 on a fishing boat / Learning to float.” While the return of instrumental motifs from “Overture” also foreshadows a darker turn of events, confirmed by the lines “Me and Peter Balkan and you, friend / Everybody else is dead.” These two songs introduce listeners to the main plot of the album, while maintaining a calm, light tone.
The third track “Cold at Night” is a highlight, with its catchy repetition of the phrase “The first thing you learn” accompanying a list of some of the challenges of being shipwrecked, especially in the cold. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s backing vocals help underline this repeating chorus, but they feel unnecessary. After lightly headbanging to the more upbeat mood of “Dawn of Revelation,” complete with a guitar solo, listeners may lose interest, since “Your Bandage,” “Peru,” and “Through This Fire” feel more homogeneous and forgettable compared to the previous songs. Thankfully, “Armies of the Lord” sucks listeners back into the narrator’s world with lines like “Prehistoric insects trapped in ice / Letting the hunger claim its price / 16 to three now down to two / Soon, it’ll just be you,” producing a foreboding quality, especially with the crew’s size diminished so drastically from 16 to two. A whistle-like synth sound returns from “Dawn of Revelation,” and the brass motifs connect the song to the musical themes from “Overture.”
“Your Glow” and “The Lady from Shanghai 2” are lyrically loaded with more context to the narrator’s background and Captain Peter Balkan’s descent into death. Finally, listeners are treated with “Broken to Begin With,” another song in the same upbeat vein as “Dawn of Revelation,” ending with “And the next thing you learn is how cold it can get at night” from “Cold at Night,” yet this time sung with a more positive inflection. Singer John Darnielle also repeats a line from “Fishing Boat” — “Me and Peter Balkan and you, friend” bringing the album full circle from the introduction of the plot to the goodbye of the narrator.
Throughout the album, the repetition of phrases, both lyrical and musical, lends the concept more strength. Yet mostly due to calm tones one still does not feel the presence of death or strong emotion. Once listeners finish the album, they will likely not remember specifics from any one song; only visions of a calm sea and soft cries of orchestral instruments will endure.
