As Mountain Goats frontman John Darnielle helps bandmate Peter Hughes navigate through northern Florida, he shares how perfectly warm the weather there is — and cringes when hearing about the upper-30 degree heat wave that’s been running through Iowa.

“I sort of wish the tour was a little later in the year, because I don’t miss the cold there,” Darnielle says. “I’d been living in Iowa since 1996, and it took me exactly one week to be acclimated to the nice warm weather in North Carolina.”

Darnielle, who moved from Ames to North Carolina this past fall, recently released his 12th full-length album, “We Shall All Be Healed.” His latest effort is a little different from his past, due to the fact that a group of musicians was used instead of just Darnielle and Hughes.

“Me and Peter sort of just wanted to use some people that we’re friends with and who we really like as musicians,” Darnielle says. “It’s not so much a full band. It’s just me and Peter and people dropping in and out.”

One thing that sets the Mountain Goats apart from other bands is its use of absurd, off-the-wall lyrics. Darnielle has a way of attracting the listener’s attention by using common thoughts and ideas but at the same time creating a unique setting where his stories unravel.

Over the years, the Mountain Goats has released a whole lot of songs. So many, in fact, that Darnielle says he doesn’t even know the number.

With so many songs written, it would seem as though Darnielle could whip one up in seconds. The guitarist says, however, it depends upon a few different factors.

“The lyrics depend on whether or not they flow real naturally or whether I want to hammer them into shape. ‘Oceanographers Choice’ took days, but the last [song] on the new record was one draft. It took about a half an hour or so,” Darnielle says.

“We Shall All Be Healed” is full of characters that Darnielle says are based on people he really knows, although he doesn’t like to elaborate on the subject.

“It’s sort of a pretty dark period of my late adolescence,” Darnielle says.

Along with his catchy lyrics and personal stories, Darnielle knows how to work a crowd — his live performances are intimate, giving the guitarist a chance to fully connect with the crowd.

“I think if you are trying too hard [to make a connection] and thinking too much about it, then it sort of defeats the purpose,” Darnielle says. “Something that I really enjoy is the way there’s a sort of a free and open interaction between me and the audience.”

Who: The Mountain Goats, Manishevitz

Where: M-Shop

When: 8 p.m., Thursday

Cost: $8 students, $10 public