When John Darnielle’s not writing songs about love, loss, and Chavo Guerrero, he’s apparently speaking up in support of women’s reproductive rights. (Okay, he’s probably also eating, sleeping, and recording songs about the founding of Rome.) Darnielle’s even a member of the Reproductive Justice League, a bowling team whose objective is to “strike down barriers to abortion care” in North Carolina. To help his team hit the $4,000 marker on its $5,000 goal as part of the Carolina Abortion Fund’s Annual Bowl-A-Thon, Darnielle offered to release a new Mountain Goats on his birthday.
Darnielle placed the song, which has a distinctly Mountain Goats title, “Wizard Level,” on the “sad and lonesome” end of the Mountain Goats spectrum, and not the “yelling” one. It’s an a capella tune, which could eventually be part of an a capella album, though Darnielle admits there are “practical concerns” to consider.
The $4,000 goal was surpassed on Wednesday, and Darnielle decided to sweeten the deal with an additional track titled “Going Back To California,” which is available for download. “Wizard Level” is still coming, so keep your eyes on Darnielle’s Tumblr.