The Mountain Goats have announced the dates for their UK tour:
Sunday 22nd May – Dublin, Whelans
Tuesday 24th May – Brighton, Coalition
Wednesday 25th May – London, KOKO
Friday 27th May – Manchester, Academy 3
Saturday 28th May – Leeds, Brudenell Social Club
Sunday 29th May – Glasgow, King Tuts
Monday 30th May – Newcastle, Cluny
Speaking about the record, singer/songwriter, John Darnielle explains, “The songs cluster around themes of hidden things and the dread that hidden things inspire, but also the excitement, the attraction, the magnetic draw that scary unknown hidden things exert.” The title refers to an apocryphal tarot deck, though Darnielle explains that the album’s fascination with the occult originates in having run across the word “occult” in a textbook in his nursing-student days. “’Occult’ just means ‘hidden’ or ‘not immediately obvious’ in medical terminology. There was a nursing directive to be aware of ‘occult blood.’ I thought it was the greatest thing I’d ever heard,” he says.
Check out the opening track, Damn These Vampires from the album, All Eternals Deck out now on Tomlab.