Praise be to John Darnielle for never keeping his acolytes waiting.

Cry For Judas is the lead single from The Mountain Goats‘ upcoming full-length Transcendental Youth, which is set to drop on October 2nd, just 18 months after last year’s devastating All Eternals Deck.

Cry For Judas, like Darnielle’s very best, neatly sidesteps mawkishness and dullardry despite its treatment of the resolutely downbeat, its pivotal lines (“some things you do just to see how bad they’ll make you feel”, or “I’m still here, but all is lost.”) delivered with all the unstable, grinning conviction of a madman, over perversely sunny horn stabs and a drunken bassline that wrenches you into a lurching jig and won’t let go no matter how much you plead. But you won’t plead. You’ll enjoy it.