The Mountain Goats: “Bleed Out” (Album Review)

Genres: Indie Rock, Heartland Rock, Indie Folk

Heavily inspired by the action movies of the past, Bleed Out contains elements of swagger, hostility, and death. In many ways, this is a typical album for The Mountain Goats, featuring these familiar themes. What helps this album stick out in the band’s decades long discography is how the elements taken from action movies work in tandem with the band’s usual themes. John Darnielle’s gorgeous, wistful, and often morbid lyricism is what truly elevates this record.

“Training Montage” is the first track on Bleed Out and served as the album’s first single. An aptly titled introduction, this song sets the scene of a character preparing for victory through the use of a training montage. As the start of an album, “Training Montage” is fairly unorthodox, marking the beginning of the album, but also being a song with rising action that leads to a smaller climax. Having this uncommon structure ends up working nicely, as each song starts and ends its own mini story, while adding on to the record’s main concept. The effort needed to have “sweat dripping out of every pore” and the grit of going “just another mile” to enact justice evokes such strong feelings. Emotions of passion and hopeful determination here on “Training Montage” is a stark contrast with the disillusionment present throughout “Bleed Out”, the closing track. Despite being a huge tonal shift, it works wonderfully by following up the flashy movie scenes with some realism. When Darnielle sings, “There's gonna be a big spot where I once lay / And there won't even be a spot one day”, he creates finality. Being able to have big and bold moments, but also meditative moments of somber realization builds a spectrum of concepts for the album to tackle. 

The action movie core of Bleed Out works as one of its greatest strengths, which leads to the best parts of the album when it is properly utilized. “Wage Wars Get Rich Die Handsome” is an especially energetic and high tempo track for The Mountain Goats, but works perfectly in the context of the record. Lyrically, it feels like a checklist, with the song’s protagonist speeding to accomplish their goals. Much like “Training Montage”, there is the description of a scene that can be clearly envisioned. Repetition of the phrase “wage wars, get rich, die handsome”, the focus on driving, and the vigorous riffs from an electric guitar are all a part of the vivid imagery. 

However, there are moments that don’t fully capitalize on the album’s central concept. For a record based on action movies, there is surprisingly little action. The lack of adrenaline and thrill undermines the impact of many songs because it creates a weak connection to the drama or conflict. Individually, this can be hard to see in a track, with a track like “Hostages” being one of the album’s best, even without overwhelming intensity. This problem is better seen when looking at the album as a whole. Dullness is generated over time, with the lack of bringing in any exciting elements. Though it isn’t a crippling issue, the presence of slowness is unfortunately felt. Being able to see the action movie influence compared to truly feeling it makes for such a difference.

The Mountain Goats show that they can wonderfully integrate their influences into their music, creating work that doesn’t feel derivative. Bleed Out is buzzing with cinematic scenery and emotive storytelling. This is wonderful for the record's songs, which can be likened to bite-sized films. As a whole, this collection does start to feel draining when its filmlike quality is treated like a gimmick rather than as something ingrained in the album. Not fearing to heavily lean into the tropes and ideas of older action movies is when Bleed Out is at its best. 

Favorite Tracks: Mark on You, Wage Wars Get Rich Die Handsome, Hostages, Training Montage, First Blood, Guys on Every Corner, Bleed Out

Least Favorites: Need More Bandages

Enjoyment: Low 8

Critically: Low 8

Arbitrary Number: 8.3/10