One might think of John Darnielle as a more emotionally and musically forgiving counterpart to Mark E Smith: determinedly following his own prolific path, and if it’s him and your granny on bongos, it’s still the Mountain Goats. On his 21st official album he’s in the concept game again. Previous records have been inspired by role-playing games and an adolescence of listening to goth bands; now Bleed Out takes its lead from the bloody revenges exacted by the protagonists of action movies, set to indie rock that veers from folky to near metal in Wage Wars Get Rich Die Handsome.
