The Mountain Goats – “Mark On You”

In a few weeks, the Mountain Goats are releasing their new album Bleed Out. Its two singles so far — “Training Montage” and “Wage Wars Get Rich Die Handsome” — both made our best songs of the week list when they came out. Today, they’re back with another one, “Mark On You,” which comes with the threatening chorus: “Can’t trust anybody/ Even the tough ones crack/ Train up a swordsman/ To stab you in the back/ I know this much is true/ I’m going to leave a mark on you.”

“‘Mark on You’ was the point where I knew where I was going in the writing of the album: songs with physical situations and palpable threats, something visceral for the tail end of lockdown,” John Darnielle said in a statement. “Producer Alicia Bognanno ran wild on this one, one of the first ones I sent her; she shapes the sound with an intensely sick riff over the chorus, teasing out the extensions and expanding the blasting surface. Sickest Wurster beat, all pocket no seams. Enjoy!”

Listen below.

TOUR DATES:
08/19 Wilmington, NC @ Brooklyn Arts Center
08/20 Charlotte, NC @ Queen City Jam Session
08/28 Richmond, VA @ The Broadberry
08/29 Atlantic City, NJ @ Anchor Rock Club
08/30 New York, NY @ Webster Hall
08/31 New York, NY @ Webster Hall SOLD OUT
09/02 Boston, MA @ Wilbur Theatre
09/03 Pawtucket, RI @ The Met
09/04 Baltimore, MD @ Baltimore Soundstage
09/07 Kalamazoo, MI @ Bell’s Beer Garden
09/08 McKees Rocks, PA @ Roxian Theatre
09/09 Cincinnati, OH @ Bogart’s
09/10 Bloomington, IN @ Bluebird Nightclub
09/11 Little Rock, AR @ Little Rock Hall
09/13 Fayetteville, AR @ JJ’s Live
09/15 San Antonio, TX @ Paper Tiger
09/16 Austin, TX @ Paramount Theatre
09/17 Fort Worth, TX @ Tulips
09/18 New Orleans, LA @ Tipitina’s
09/20 Birmingham, AL @ Saturn
09/21 Knoxville, TN @ Bijou Theatre
09/22 Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel
09/23 Wilmington, NC @ Greenfield Lake Amphitheater
11/10 Vienna, Austria @ WUK Foyer ~
11/11 Berlin, Germany @ Columbia Theater ~
11/12 Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Paradiso ~
11/14 Antwerp, Belgium @ De Roma ~
11/16 London, UK @ Roundhouse ~
11/17 Manchester, UK @ Albert Hall ~
11/18 Dublin, Ireland @ Vicar Street ~
~ with Carson McHone

Bleed Out is out 8/19 via Merge.