“Animal Mask” offers you a costume for when you aren’t ready for everyone to see inside.

Track: “Animal Mask”
Album: Beat the Champ (2015)

I’ve had a few people ask me versions of the same question since I started writing this series. They all essentially boil down to asking if there are any Mountain Goats songs I don’t like. At the time of this writing, there are 525 “released” non-cover Mountain Goats songs (though that number is very unofficial and requires several caveats) and I think every single one of them has something interesting about it. I wouldn’t have done this if I felt otherwise. That said, I like some more than others, and “Animal Mask” is near the bottom of my list.

What’s even the point of saying that? I initially randomized the whole list of songs to write about and I punted “Animal Mask” five or six times because I didn’t know what to say beyond that. It’s one of John Darnielle’s favorites, it’s been played live at least a hundred times, and it’s a touching song about his own child. I just find it hard to engage with, and I recognize that’s a personal problem.

I love the message behind it, which Darnielle has described as being about how you don’t owe anyone your true face. It’s a beautiful sentiment for one’s family, especially delivered on an album where most of the main characters feel so much pain and don’t have much say in how things go. I can appreciate “Animal Mask” as a hopeful story about father and son and about maintaining yourself in a world that tests you, even if it’s not my favorite jam.