The above image is the cover of Transcendental Youth, the latest in the reliably prolific outpouring of John Darnielle and his long-running Mountain Goats band/alias. The 12-song album will arrive October 2 through Merge Records, and features Darnielle singing and playing guitar (and probably piano, too), Jon Wurster playing drums and Peter Hughes playing bass. It also boasts a full horn section.

Four days after releasing Transcendental Youth, Darnielle will join the vocal group Anonymous 4 at Durham’s Reynolds Industries Theater for a collaborative performance of his Transcendental Youth song-cycle, which was arranged with the assistance of Owen Pallett and debuted at the 2012 Ecstatic Music Festival in New York.

Darnielle is also scheduled to perform a unique double-set at this year’s Hopscotch Music Festival. He will perform one set of rare fan-favorite Mountain Goats songs and one of heavy metal covers on piano. —Bryan C. Reed