The Mountain Goats of Portland, Ore., is struggling with the fine balance of remaining hip while not slanting intellectually. The group — singer / guitarist / pianist John Darnielle, bassist Peter Hughes and whoever else is around to play — has released a slew of material since 1991 while amping up the number of session musicians involved in the process.

Darnielle routinely insists on others joining the party, as he does again on the newest release, “Heretic Pride.” The Goats revolves around Darnielle’s hyper-enunciated, oh-so-fragile vocals, which juxtapose against the dark themes tainting the lyrics — isolation, sex, drugs and emotional disruption. It’s fine to write about your demons, but there are only so many post-ironic follies that can be documented in a folk record.

Often Darnielle’s voice itself, which recalls a nasal spin on the clarity of The Decemberists’ Colin Meloy, is the weakest link on the new disc. Tracks such as “San Bernardino” shine with offbeat orchestration and unique polyrhythms, yet his vocals are too jittery to fit comfortably into the scheme. His oddly-paced delivery was better suited to the Goats’ stark early work, and on a record with such sonic depth as this one has, Darnielle’s consistent pitchiness is very distracting.

Besides an uneven setup, Darnielle’s songwriting lacks the focus he exhibited on earlier discs. To a cynic, it might sound as if the group’s lack of exposure has inspired the frontman to mine the songbooks of more successful indie acts. The title track bites not only vocals in the style of The Decemberists, but also their march-paced acoustic numbers. “Lovecraft in Brooklyn” copies Ted Leo in lyrics and pace, and “Tianchi Lake” will doubtlessly sound familiar to fans of Iron & Wine.

Luckily, Darnielle’s way with words has led to his most inspired poetry yet. The subject matter is still dark, but this time ideas are more electric. Though the instrumentation on the title track is a bit stale, Darnielle hauntingly sketches the persecution of the heretic in question: “And they dig a trench right in the main square right there / And they pick me up and throw me down / And I start laughing like a child / And I mark their faces one by one.” This vividness is able to carry some of the album’s weaker moments.

It is clear The Mountain Goats have potential, as seen on better, simpler discs such as 2002’s “Tallahassee.” The key to success is allowing Darnielle to sing with a subtle backing band, focusing the spotlight on his troubled vocals. The best bet for the boys would be to go back to the drawing board, reassess their strengths and determine where they would like, and need, to go.

"Heretic Pride" by The Mountain Goats recieved one and a half of four stars.