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# Three cool songs I've been listening to
- URL: https://www.andrewliptak.com/three-cool-songs-josh-ritter-mountain-goats-lost-leaders/
- Published: 2019-01-31T17:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2025-09-25T13:27:01.000Z
- Author: Andrew Liptak

I’m constantly on the hunt for new music to listen to, and in the past week, I’ve added a couple of new songs to what I call my “.Best New” playlist. It’s a playlist (the . at the beginning ensures that it’s at the top of my playlist column in iTunes) that I basically dump any new song I come across that I’ve been enjoying, and keep it around until I’ve heard it enough.

  
First up is a new song from Josh Ritter, “Old Black Magic”. He just announced a new album called *Fever Breaks*, which is due out in April of this year. Ritter is one of those artists that will pretty much get me to drop anything and preorder. I’ve been a fan of his for over a decade now, and I’ve seen him a bunch of times in concert — he always puts on a great show.

This song is a good one of his, and it really highlights some of the progression I’ve seen him go through as an artist — he has a great Americana sound, going from melodic to folksy, to rock. This one’s definitely more on the rock end of the spectrum, and I really love the beat and drive that this one has. It really has me eagerly anticipating *Fever Breaks*.

  
The Mountain Goats are another band that I’ve been a fan of over the years, although I haven’t listened to them as closely as I have with Josh Ritter. I’ve always appreciated the nerdiness of The Mountain Goats, who have released songs about H.P. Lovecraft (“[Lovecraft in Brooklyn](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrHgZRGLgo0&ref=andrewliptak.com)”), vampires (“[Damn these Vampires](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjiJM%5FDaoa0&ref=andrewliptak.com)”) and some others. I interviewed their lead singer, John Darnielle, and we had a good conversation about American gothic literature. Sadly, the audio didn’t work out, and I’ve never published it.

Their next album looks like it’s going to be their nerdiest one yet: it’s a collaboration with Dungeons & Dragons called *In League with Dragons*. Darnielle [described the album](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/mountain-goats-new-album-in-league-with-dragons-785365/?ref=andrewliptak.com) as “Dragon noir,” which sounds utterly perfect. Also instantly preordered.

  
The final song is one from an album I’ve already preordered: Extra-Ordinary by Lost Leaders, who I [discovered last fall while traveling to Toronto](https://www.andrewliptak.com/lost-leaders-band-heavy-lifting-ep/). This is the song that they teased on their campaign video for their upcoming album, *Promises Promises*, which is due out next month. I really love their sound, and this one really popped for me — the chorus is really great, and I’ve been listening to it non-stop for a week or so now.