Folk rock band and icons the Mountain Goats have released a brand new track “Picture of My Dress,” which will appear on the group’s upcoming album Getting into Knives. The new album will mark the band’s 19th studio record and is due out on Friday, October 23, via the Merge Records label.
The latest track follows previous single “Get Famous” and sees the folk heroes right at home with their acoustic, finger-picking riffs while singer/songwriter John Darnielle offers his signature melodic and verbose verses. The song comes to a delightful close as it meanders to an end with its blissful pop melodies never fully fading.
The song was inspired when Darnielle saw a tweet from poet Maggie Smith proposing a photo essay around a woman driving across the country taking pictures of a thrown away wedding dress. Darnielle was immediately compelled to begin writing what would become “Picture of My Dress” and even began a friendship with Smith in the process. Discussing the finished product, Darnielle says the tune is a “pop-country song that’s still identifiably the Mountain Goats, universally relatable but still a little cracked.” Mastered at the legendary Sam Phillips Recording studio in Memphis, the track was recorded with producer Matt Ross-Spang, who has worked with fellow folk heroes like Jason Isbell, Margo Price, and the late John Prine.
According to a press release, the Mountain Goats have also announced their “first full-band online concerts for October 22 and 29, both starting at 9pm ET!” Dubbed The Jordan Lake Sessions, the performances were captured on video at Manifold Recording in Pittsboro, North Carolina and will include two shows capturing 36 songs across the band’s entire catalog, with zero repeats. Tickets for these shows are currently available and will come with access to a rebroadcast of the performances for 24 hours after the time of purchase.
Darnielle recently gave fans a guided walk-thru of the upcoming album’s bundle package, which is available for pre-order at the Merge Records store. The band’s official store will also be carrying a salmon-colored deluxe edition LP.