The Mountain Goats "Beat the Champ" 2026-05-08 Alligator appeared on many year-end

Alligator appeared on many year-end top 10 lists

and mastered specifically for vinyl

we’ve all waited long enough

Entertainment Weekly and USA Today

III boldly and expertly goes in an artistic direction not yet traveled by the band

The Mountain Goats "Beat the Champ" 2026-05-08 Alligator appeared on many year-endDouble vinyl LP pressing include digital download. 2015 release from the veteran indie folk band led by John Darnielle. Beat the Champ is about professional wrestling, which was an avenue of escape for me when I was a kid. Wrestling was low budget working class entertainment back then, strictly UHF material. It was cheap theater. You had to bring your imagination to the proceedings and you got paid back double. I wrote these songs to re immerse myself