Ian Munsick Talks Writing an “Anthemic” Love Letter to the West on His New LP

Ian Munsick is getting fans into a Western state of mind. At a time when cowboys and country music are all the rage in pop culture, the singer dedicated himself to shining a light on the reality of the West with his new LP, The Mountain Goat.

“This album is an anthemic project for the people that live in the West or that love the West,” Munsick told American Songwriter. “… Being a cowboy is more than just a hat and the clothes that you wear. You really have to earn your right to be a cowboy. Especially this day and age where the Western way of life is really trending, I really wanted to educate people about what the West is really about.”

There was no better way to do that than by infusing himself into the album in every way possible. From the songwriting, to the production, to the instrumentation, Munsick had a hand on every part of the LP.

“I really wanted to make sure that there was a lot of me in the actual record,” Munsick said. “So instead of hiring a band to go into the studio and record it, which is probably what happens 95 percent of the time in country music, we decided to just have my co-producers and I play almost everything that’s on the records.”

“We hired in players sparsely to overdub their individual parts,” he added. “I think, by doing that, we made a really unique record.”

Ian Munsick on Creating The Mountain Goat Sound

In fact, Munsick went so far as to play nine different instruments—acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass guitar, mandolin, banjo, harmonica, piano, bouzouki, and kazoo—on the project.

“Honestly, I’m not the world’s greatest player, but I hear parts in my head, and then I grab the instrument that I think is gonna play that,” he explained. “There’s times that it takes me hours, and hours, and hours to get the part down. I would rather it be me playing than hiring a guy to play his part. At the end of the day, it’s my name on the record. You should be hearing me on the record.”

The result of that process is a unique blend of real instruments and programmed ones. The former category gives the project its acoustic, bluegrass, and roots feel, while the latter one brings the music into the current era.

“By doing that, we were able to make a country album that is undeniably country, but have it feel unique in the country world. That’s always a big challenge,” Munsick said. “… Being able to blend real country music and real roots music with more modern technology always inspires me. I feel like it hasn’t really been been done.”

Ian Munsick Breaks Down Standout Tracks on The Mountain Goat

Lyrically, the LP focuses on all the things Western culture holds dear. That’s never more the case than on “World War III,” though that fact doesn’t take away from the song’s relatability.

“It’s about taking care of the people and the place that you love,” he said. “I think that’s a very universal statement.”

Elsewhere, Munsick said he counts “Palomino Eyes” as his favorite song on the album. It earned that distinction thanks to “the correlation that my co-writer and I were able to draw from a horse to a lady,” he said.

Munsick’s wife isn’t his only family member who inspired a song on the project. His daughter did so for “Blue Roan,” which Munsick considers a “very, very unique” tune.

“I have never put out a song that’s like this,” he said. “There’s a lot of different styles of music blended all in one. There’s classical music in it, and here’s rock and roll music in it, and there’s country music in it. It’s very eclectic. It about having a cowgirl as a daughter, which I think is just cool.”

However, it’s “My Montana” that Munsick is most excited to have out in the world, because it “just feels really, really good.”

“It’s catchy, but it also just feels like Montana, which is cool,” he said.

Ian Munsick Is Bringing The Mountain Goat Out West

Munsick will celebrate the album’s release with a series of The Road to The Mountain Goat shows out West.

Marking this next phase of his career in the area that inspired it was of the utmost importance to the artist.

“I think just bringing the tour back to the Rocky Mountains is a really cool thing. In the past, we’ve had our our album release parties in Nashville,” he said. “For us to really come back to places like Utah, and Montana, and Wyoming, and Colorado at Red Rocks [is exciting]. Those places are the places that inspire me to write music. To bring them home is gonna be really special.”

The Mountain Goat is out now.

Photo by Ben Christensen