John Darnielle is one of indie rock's greatest lyricists. In the ‘90s, he wrote songs that played out like microscopic short stories detailing desperate characters doing even more desperate things. At first favoring a lo-fi production style and always writing with an emotional intensity, the group became favorites on the underground circuit before expanding the sound to incorporate strings and horns on 2002's Tallahassee. Summing up the Mountain Goats' sound, 2015's Beat the Champ begins as a tale about pro wrestling before revealing its introspective heartbeat.