← more from
Merge Records
We've updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Jenny from Thebes

by the Mountain Goats

supported by
Herman
Herman thumbnail
Herman When the punchlines hit, you buy the album Favorite track: Clean Slate.
Daniel Borinder
Daniel Borinder thumbnail
georgialoukelly
georgialoukelly thumbnail
Michael DeGroff-Kirchgraber
Michael DeGroff-Kirchgraber thumbnail
Maccus
Maccus thumbnail
adamkushner
adamkushner thumbnail
christine munn
christine munn thumbnail
timbrend
timbrend thumbnail
agbase
agbase thumbnail
tancread
tancread thumbnail
A. Keswick
A. Keswick thumbnail
mhcat
mhcat thumbnail
trent
trent thumbnail
pokteh123
pokteh123 thumbnail
xrodriguez
xrodriguez thumbnail
DIVE LOG
DIVE LOG thumbnail
ktkarnie
ktkarnie thumbnail
prettypenguin
prettypenguin thumbnail
Lady Galaxy
Lady Galaxy thumbnail
raven
raven thumbnail
Ellie
Ellie thumbnail
dlwimmer
dlwimmer thumbnail
ebisa23
ebisa23 thumbnail
knitterscasket
knitterscasket thumbnail
thumbnail
Sara
Sara thumbnail
k84
k84 thumbnail
freshbakedlady
freshbakedlady thumbnail
droneroomnotdrones
droneroomnotdrones thumbnail
Amalthea Rose
Amalthea Rose thumbnail
Cassie Jones
Cassie Jones thumbnail
trollkeen
trollkeen thumbnail
setecastronomy
setecastronomy thumbnail
Will Evans
Will Evans thumbnail
Justin Ludeman
Justin Ludeman thumbnail
Nightclub Dwight
Nightclub Dwight thumbnail
bobwall23
bobwall23 thumbnail
delink
delink thumbnail
mhmyeah
mhmyeah thumbnail
ItMe.JD
ItMe.JD thumbnail
Catherine Lewis
Catherine Lewis thumbnail
Maxilos343
Maxilos343 thumbnail
Danny J Willow
Danny J Willow thumbnail
kenquistador
kenquistador thumbnail
mrslaughter
mrslaughter thumbnail
Freyja
Freyja thumbnail
theNunn
theNunn thumbnail
Thomas Marohl
Thomas Marohl thumbnail
Holger Wirth
Holger Wirth thumbnail
calvjones
calvjones thumbnail
J.S. LaTour
J.S. LaTour thumbnail
Patricia Larsen
Patricia Larsen thumbnail
Jack
Jack thumbnail
J. Kyle
J. Kyle thumbnail
pandabearshape
pandabearshape thumbnail
Jared Andrews
Jared Andrews thumbnail
andrewbresko
andrewbresko thumbnail
bronzeweasel
bronzeweasel thumbnail
fuathurio
fuathurio thumbnail
neco
neco thumbnail
James Pequignot
James Pequignot thumbnail
more...
/

  • Streaming + Download

    Pre-order of Jenny from Thebes. You get 3 tracks now (streaming via the free Bandcamp app and also available as a high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more), plus the complete album the moment it’s released.
    Purchasable with gift card
    releases October 27, 2023

      $8 USD  or more

     

  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    - Limited-edition colored vinyl
    - Gatefold jacket with printed lyrics
    - Includes digital download card

    Includes digital pre-order of Jenny from Thebes. You get 3 tracks now (streaming via the free Bandcamp app and also available as a high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more), plus the complete album the moment it’s released.
    shipping out on or around October 27, 2023
    Purchasable with gift card

      $23.98 USD or more 

     

  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    - Gatefold jacket with printed lyrics
    - Includes digital download card

    Includes digital pre-order of Jenny from Thebes. You get 3 tracks now (streaming via the free Bandcamp app and also available as a high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more), plus the complete album the moment it’s released.
    shipping out on or around October 27, 2023
    Purchasable with gift card

      $22.98 USD or more 

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    - 4-panel wallet
    - 16-page lyric booklet

    Includes digital pre-order of Jenny from Thebes. You get 3 tracks now (streaming via the free Bandcamp app and also available as a high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more), plus the complete album the moment it’s released.
    shipping out on or around October 27, 2023
    Purchasable with gift card

      $12.98 USD or more 

     

  • Cassette + Digital Album

    - Foldout J-card with full lyrics
    - Black ink on opaque “magnolia” shell
    - Does not include digital download card

    Includes digital pre-order of Jenny from Thebes. You get 3 tracks now (streaming via the free Bandcamp app and also available as a high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more), plus the complete album the moment it’s released.
    shipping out on or around October 27, 2023
    Purchasable with gift card

      $10.98 USD or more 

     

  • T-Shirt/Shirt

    Created to celebrate the Mountain Goats' 2023 album Jenny from Thebes. Exclusive three-color design on a 100% cotton “ocean blue” unisex tee. Made in USA.

    Will ship to arrive on or around the album's October 27 release date.

    Sorry, but we cannot accept returns or exchanges on clothing items.
    shipping out on or around October 27, 2023
    Purchasable with gift card

      $25 USD or more 

     

1.
Clean Slate 03:48
buy track
2.
Ground Level
3.
Only One Way
4.
Fresh Tattoo 04:42
buy track
5.
Cleaning Crew
6.
Murder at the 18th St. Garage 02:52
buy track
7.
From the Nebraska Plant
8.
Same as Cash
9.
Water Tower
10.
Jenny III
11.
Going to Dallas
12.
Great Pirates

about

The Mountain Goats’ catalog is thick with recurring characters—Jenny, who originally appears in the All Hail West Texas track bearing her name, as well as in “Straight Six” from Jam Eater Blues and Transcendental Youth side two jam “Night Light,” is one of these, someone who enters a song unexpectedly, pricking up the ears of fans who are keen on continuing the various narrative threads running through the Mountain Goats’ discography before vanishing into the mist. In these songs, Jenny is largely defined by her absence, and she is given that definition by other characters. She is running from something. These features are beguiling, both to the characters who’ve told her story so far and to the listener. They invite certain questions: Who is Jenny, really? What is she running from? Well, she’s a warrior and a thief, and, this being an album by the Mountain Goats, it’s a safe bet whatever she’s fleeing is something bad. Something catastrophically bad.

Jenny from Thebes is the story of Jenny, her southwestern ranch style house, the people for whom that house is a place of safety, and the west Texas town that is uncomfortable with its existence. It is a story about the individual and society, about safety and shelter and those who choose to provide care when nobody else will.

credits

releases October 27, 2023

Recorded January 16–22, 2023, at the Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Produced, Recorded and Mixed by Trina Shoemaker, assisted by Isaiah Page and Cade Roberts. Mastered by Brent Lambert.

Played by Alicia Bognanno, John Darnielle, Matt Douglas, Peter Hughes, and Jon Wurster, joined by Matt Nathanson and Kathy Valentine. Arrangements for strings and horns by Matt Douglas; strings played by Karen Galvin. Trombone by Evan Ringel.

All songs ©2023 Cadmean Dawn (ASCAP) administered worldwide by Me Gusta Music. Represented by Ryan Matteson and Kevin O’Halloran for Ten Atoms. Design by Daniel Murphy.

The narrator of “Cleaning Crew”—“I”—is Jenny from All Hail West Texas. She’s speaking to the narrator of “Source Decay” from the same album. Enterprising travelers will work out the rest.

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

the Mountain Goats image

the Mountain Goats Durham, North Carolina

John Darnielle has written almost 600 songs now, and some of them are very sad, dealing with hard drugs and tragic ends, hurting yourself and others, sicknesses of both body and brain, off-brand alcohols. They are told in beautiful, unnerving, specific detail because he is a very good writer, and also some of them are just true stories about his own life.
—John Hodgman, 2012 ... more

shows

contact / help

Contact the Mountain Goats

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like the Mountain Goats, you may also like:

Bandcamp Daily  your guide to the world of Bandcamp

On Bandcamp Radio

Say She She host with funk and boogie cuts, and a spotlight on Charlotte Adigery & Bolis Pupul.
listen now