It’s been a mere six months since The Mountain Goats released their latest studio album Songs for Pierre Chuvin, but the group are set for another LP release with Getting Into Knives, out on October 23 via Merge Records. A lyric video for the first album’s single “As Many Candles As Possible,” directed by Lalitree Danielle, the wife of frontman John Darnielle has also been released.

“As Many Candles As Possible” features John Darnielle writing out the lyrics for the song on a simple notepad. The track is a blend of classic rock and blues influences, with some jazz-inspired organ lines brought forward by Charles Hodges, who worked with Al Green and elements of jazz horns thrown in. Darnielle sings in his signature style, while the track’s rhythm section give the track a nostalgic groove.

“With the album, you either slam the door shut or you open on to the next path,” John Darnielle avows. “The trick is to sew up an ending, but at the same time open the doors to the theater and let the sunlight in.” According to a press release this song was written before the COVID-19 quarantine.

This is the band’s fifth studio album in the past five years, beginning with The Champ in 2015, Goths in 2017 and In League with Dragons in 2019, followed by the 2020 releases of Songs for Pierre Chuvin and Getting Into Knives. Stephen Colbert performed The Mountain Goats’ “This Year” alongside Darnielle during a July 2019 broadcast of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Getting Into Knives track list

1. Corsican Mastiff Stride
2. Get Famous
3. Picture of My Dress
4. As Many Candles As Possible
5. Tidal Wave
6. Pez Dorado
7. The Last Place I Saw You Alive
8. Bell Swamp Connection
9. The Great Gold Sheep
10. Rat Queen
11. Wolf Count
12. Harbor Me
13. Getting Into Knives