Jenny from Thebes, by the Mountain Goats

Jenny from Thebes

by the Mountain Goats

supported by

olealf Great record! Looks like I'm gonna have to get my first tattoo. Favorite track: Fresh Tattoo.

Herman When the punchlines hit, you buy the album Favorite track: Clean Slate.

Isaac Olson And lo, the long-scorned Swedish prophecy was fulfilled; for the people heard the sound of the horn blast on "Great Pirates" and beheld the Mountain Goats, transfigured, at last, into Steely Dan.

Great record!

cultureglut one of thee most prolific bands in indie rock and the quality never lacks! when John Darnielle described this record as a rock opera, i was worried. thankfully the instrumentation and arrangements are so sophisticated that this album stands triumphant against all the pitfalls of a big swing. all hail the Mountain Goats! hail hail! Favorite track: From the Nebraska Plant.

dwinlomusic Cried happy tears on the first listen. So many amazing lines. So many great musical choices. Can’t wait to hear these songs live when TMG return to the UK. The pirate’s life for me. Favorite track: Fresh Tattoo.

Julian Radici JD delivers on another wonderful album, jumping genres from track to track and telling a wonderful story throughout. Favorite track: Fresh Tattoo.

Smiley McGrouchpants Jr. Esq. III thumbnail

more...

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

$8 USD or more
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
- Limited-edition colored vinyl
- Gatefold jacket with printed lyrics
- Includes digital download card

Includes unlimited streaming of Jenny from Thebes via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 3 days

Purchasable with gift card

$23.98 USD or more
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
- Gatefold jacket with printed lyrics
- Includes digital download card

Includes unlimited streaming of Jenny from Thebes via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 3 days

Purchasable with gift card

$22.98 USD or more
Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
- 4-panel wallet
- 16-page lyric booklet

Includes unlimited streaming of Jenny from Thebes via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 3 days

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 unlimited streaming of Jenny from Thebes via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 3 days

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.

ships out within 3 days

Purchasable with gift card

$25 USD or more

1.	Clean Slate 03:48	buy track
2.	Ground Level 02:22	buy track
3.	Only One Way 04:01	buy track
4.	Fresh Tattoo 04:42	buy track
5.	Cleaning Crew 03:36	buy track
6.	Murder at the 18th St. Garage 02:52	buy track
7.	From the Nebraska Plant 03:33	buy track
8.	Same as Cash 03:44	buy track
9.	Water Tower 02:27	buy track
10.	Jenny III 02:26	buy track
11.	Going to Dallas 02:02	buy track
12.	Great Pirates 04:10	buy track

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

released 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

about

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

May 21

Bristol Beacon

Bristol, UK
May 22

Roundhouse

London, UK
May 24

Barrowland

Glasgow, UK
May 25

Albert Hall

Manchester, UK
May 26

Vicar Street

Dublin, Ireland
Jul 27

Bearsville Theater

Woodstock, NY
Aug 4

Wolf Trap

Vienna, VA

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:

Punisher
by Phoebe Bridgers

supported by 295 fans who also own “Jenny from Thebes”

savior complex makes my stomach feel full when i forgot to have breakfast polimoley
go to album
the record
by boygenius

supported by 249 fans who also own “Jenny from Thebes”

I just started listening to this album today and am IN LOVE! Every track is perfect. I'm slightly sad I didn't start listening to boygenius until but happy to be a fan of their music <3 lissie_a
go to album
Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You
by Big Thief

supported by 218 fans who also own “Jenny from Thebes”

Choosing a favorite track for this one is honestly impossible. 9.5/10 angrypizza98
go to album
Have Some Shame
by don't get lemon

Gutsy New Romantic synthpop from Austin, Texas with hooks and heartache galore. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 24, 2024
go to album
Surrender
by ORACLE

featured on Bandcamp Radio Apr 23, 2024
go to album
AMARGO
by Nina Maia feat. Chica Barreto

featured on Bandcamp Radio Apr 23, 2024
go to album
Javelin
by Sufjan Stevens

supported by 190 fans who also own “Jenny from Thebes”

Still reliably delivering shivers after all these years. Jackie
go to album

Bandcamp Daily your guide to the world of Bandcamp

On Bandcamp Radio

Featuring Riley Pinkerton (aka The Rat Queen) from the theatrical NYC rockers, Castle Rat.

listen now