The Mountain Goats — scary but upbeat

Singer-songwriter John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats used the release of his band's 13th album, "All Eternals Deck," as a launchpad to raise money for a variety of causes, including Japanese earthquake survivors.

"I'd like to be actually famous and make some organization's day — or month," said Darnielle, in a phone interview.

The musician is generous with what he has, given that he writes for a small audience.

"When I write songs, it's just for me — I don't expect people to hear the music," he said.

Whether he expects it or not, people are listening. With backing instrumentalist Peter Hughes and drummer Jon Wurster (Superchunk), the band has performed on the "Late Show with David Letterman" and nabbed a spot at this year's Lollapalooza.

"All Eternals Deck" — which takes its name from an imaginary set of tarot cards — will most likely garner more kudos, though the lyrics on the album may be a little sinister for some. The songs directly explore themes of human fear and agony.

Despite its dark mood, the music is upbeat, filled with bright chords and melodies set against lines such as, "Sometimes a wave of forgetfulness rises up and blesses me/And other times the sickness howls and I despair of any remedy."

Sounds like the stuff of nightmares. But all the darkness doesn't get Darnielle down.

"I'm excited about everything," he said. "If I'm suffering, I'm excited to be suffering. So the people in my songs will be suffering, but the music is always up-tempo, always going to have that aspect of pleasure, because the emotion is invigorating."

Darnielle uses this emotion to create glimpses into characters' lives, rather than focusing on full-blown narratives.

"I tell half of the story," he said. "The characters are an army of half-living beings."

The singer likes to frighten listeners, he said, because it shocks them out of their everyday suppositions and forces them to re-evaluate how they approach the world.

People must like it. The audience for The Mountain Goats is growing.

And that's a good thing, not only for fans, but for the people who may benefit from Darnielle's future generosity.

Allison Augustyn: jaggergirl@gmail.com