Songs for Pierre Chuvin
2020 studio album by the Mountain Goats
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Songs for Pierre Chuvin is the eighteenth studio album by the Mountain Goats, released on April 10, 2020.[1] It is the first album since 2002's All Hail West Texas to feature only the band's frontman, John Darnielle, as well as the first since then to be recorded entirely on a boombox.[2][3][4][5] The album was first released on cassette and digital, with CD and vinyl releases following in 2021.[6]
| Songs for Pierre Chuvin | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 10, 2020 | |||
| Recorded | March 2020 | |||
| Genre | Lo-fi | |||
| Length | 27:17 | |||
| Label | Merge Records | |||
| Producer | John Darnielle | |||
| The Mountain Goats chronology | ||||
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Songs for Pierre Chuvin was recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic in an effort to help the band and some of their crew make ends meet in lieu of a postponed tour in the United States.[2] Inspiration for the songs, as well as the album's title, largely came from French historian Pierre Chuvin's book A Chronicle of the Last Pagans.[1][3][4][5] Darnielle recorded the tracks over a 10-day period in March 2020, releasing the songs "Exegetic Chains", "Until Olympius Returns", and "For the Snakes" on the band's YouTube channel prior to the full release.
Reception
Track listing
All tracks are written by John Darnielle.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Aulon Raid" | 2:13 |
| 2. | "Until Olympius Returns" | 2:12 |
| 3. | "Last Gasp at Calama" | 1:58 |
| 4. | "For the Snakes" | 2:09 |
| 5. | "The Wooded Hills Along the Black Sea" | 2:57 |
| 6. | "January 31, 438" | 2:22 |
| 7. | "Hopeful Assassins of Zeno" | 3:15 |
| 8. | "Their Gods Do Not Have Surgeons" | 3:34 |
| 9. | "Going to Lebanon 2" | 2:26 |
| 10. | "Exegetic Chains" | 4:11 |
| Total length: | 27:17 | |
Charts
| Chart (2020) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[11] | 86 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC)[12] | 13 |
| US Billboard 200[13] | 152 |
| US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[14] | 7 |
| US Americana/Folk Albums (Billboard)[15] | 4 |
| US Independent Albums (Billboard)[16] | 19 |
| US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[17] | 23 |