The Mountain Goats Announce New LP, Release “Clean Slate”

The Mountain Goats have announced their new LP Jenny from Thebes, out October 27 via Merge Records. Serving as a sequel to 2002’s All Hail West Texas, the new album is “a rock opera about a woman named Jenny, who buys a Kawasaki to ride as far away as she can from a town she’s been carrying on her shoulders too long,” per bandleader John Darnielle. Its 21-year-old predecessor was a loose, rough around the edges and broad-spanning concept album that, over time, has become critically lauded. Our new star Jenny made her first appearance on that LP, and now she gets her story told in full in typically off-kilter Mountain Goats style.

Lead single “Clean Slate” sets the scene of Jenny’s life: The house she rents, the couch surfers she aids, the transformation she’s undergoing. It’s got that special admixture of nonchalance and deep humanity that make the Mountain Goats so irresistible, replete with Darnielle’s crisp drawl and a jazzy, cinematic combination of horns, shakers and piano—all of which set the stage for Jenny’s next chapter.

Check out the Jenny from Thebes album artwork tracklist below and watch the “Clean Slate” video here.

Jenny from Thebes Artwork:

Jenny from Thebes Tracklist:
Clean Slate
Ground Level
Only One Way
Fresh Tattoo
Cleaning Crew
Murder at the 18th St. Garage
From the Nebraska Plant
Same as Cash
Water Tower
Jenny III
Going to Dallas
Great Pirates