Wrestling (album)

Wrestling is the debut studio album by the American indie rock band, The Mountain Goats. It was released in 1995 on Shrimper Records. The album consists primarily of lo-fi recordings made by John Darnielle, the band's founder and frontman, on a boombox. As was typical of early Mountain Goats releases, the songs feature Darnielle's signature songwriting style, characterized by introspective and often melancholic lyrics delivered with raw emotion. Many of the songs explore themes of isolation, alienation, and personal struggle. The album’s title is a thematic reference, less about the sport of wrestling itself, and more about the broader idea of grappling with life's challenges and internal conflicts. The album is considered by many fans to be a cornerstone of The Mountain Goats’ early discography and exemplifies the lo-fi aesthetic that defined their sound in the 1990s.