John Darnielle, the creative force behind and former sole member of The Mountain Goats, is a master of the story-song. He creates self-contained worlds and characters with richly developed emotions, blending just the right amount of comedy and tragedy in less than four minutes.
It might seem odd for The Mountain Goats to release an album about professional wrestlers, but in many ways it makes sense: wrestling is one part bodybuilding, one part stunt performing and one part stage-acting. The work is brutal, the fans are rabid and the stakes are high. It’s all about building a legacy, and the glory is ever-fleeting.
“Beat the Champ” sees the Mountain Goats exploring this world of triumphs and tragedies which enthralled Darnielle as a kid, and the result is outstanding.
Opener “Southwest Territory” features rumbling piano chords and thickly plucked bass offset by slowly trilling woodwinds, the tune vaguely reminiscent of “Damn These Vampires,” the first track on 2011’s “All Eternals Deck.” The following track and lead-single “The Legend of Chavo Guerrero” is a much more typical Mountain Goats arrangement, sharply strummed guitar with Darnielle sing-talking the lyrics. “Chavo Guerrero” also happens to contain the album’s only distinctly personal reference, a verse mocking a cruel stepfather for having derided the wrestler Darnielle idolized most.
It’s actually a slightly clumsy moment, as Darnielle sings “Now your ashes are scattered on the wind.”
Fortunately, it’s followed by the best song on the album — and possibly one of the finest Mountain Goats songs to date. “Foreign Object” is a groovy, syncopated song with powerful attacks of low saxophone, over which Darnielle plays a wrestler preparing to stab his opponent in the eye. The song is infectious, sure to be stuck in your head for days, and there’s something delightfully morbid about bopping along to the vicious line “I personally will stab you in the eye with a foreign object.”
As in many other Mountain Goats songs, the content gets rough but the music remains a joy.
“Animal Mask” is another highlight, a song with incredible melodic phrasing describing the early days of a pro career. The bassline sounds a bit like that of Lou Reed’s classic “Walk On the Wild Side,” but that just lends the song a certain classic feel. The blunt, bittersweet chorus of “Some things you will remember, some things stay sweet forever” encapsulates Darnielle’s particular, vaguely melancholy brand of optimism.
There are also some truly heart-wrenching moments on the album. “Heel Turn 2” tells the tale of a hero wrestler turning into a villain to end his career. Darnielle pleads, “I don’t want to die in here” and speaks of the “President of the fan club / up there choking on his tears” over a bouncing bass line and percussive acoustic guitar. It’s a prototypical Mountain Goats story of a fall from grace.
“Unmasked!” and the album-closer “Hair Match” are similarly heavy. They both see Darnielle singing in a haunting double-track. “Hair Match” includes a particularly devastating line: “The referee and your opponent will hold you there / and we’re gonna bring in a folding chair.”
The line is delivered as if by an announcer as the wrestler helplessly awaits his humiliating defeat. The austere guitar and string arrangements only serve to strengthen the songs’ profound emotional impact.
“Beat the Champ” also sees the Mountain Goats continuing to branch out stylistically. “Werewolf Gimmick” has a southwestern chord progression reminiscent of bullfighting music, augmented by thunderous kickdrums. “Fire Editorial” bears a strong jazz influence, full of complex chords and irregular drum patterns. The visceral “Stabbed to Death Outside San Juan” is harder to classify, with Darnielle speaking in a deadpan and barely strumming his guitar, then breaking for sharp, descending string lines. The tense, minimalist,and angular arrangement reflects the song’s tale of an wrestler taking a match in Puerto Rico that ends in his fatal stabbing.
There are also highly uplifting moments, however, like “The Ballad of Bull Ramos.” Jangling verses build into a quintessential Mountain Goats harmonized chorus which tells of a wrestler who retires, works a satisfying job, gets injured and loses his leg and eyesight while retaining his friends and pride in his glorious career.
It’s often a sad album, but rarely a bleak one. The songs have a sense of humor and the arrangements are smart and catchy. The slower, sparser numbers don’t drag as they might on other Mountain Goats albums thanks to stylistic experimentation, and several songs (like “Foreign Object” and “The Legend of Chavo Guerrero”) will certainly become fan favorites. A tremendously consistent album, “Beat The Champ” is an excellent addition to the Mountain Goats’ already prodigious catalogue.
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