A leftover from an album that became something else, “Clemency for the Wizard King” tells us one thing directly but leaves room to wonder.

Track: “Clemency for the Wizard King”
Album: In League with Dragons (2019)

I was in a bar in a few years ago and the bartender had a Mountain Goats tattoo. I asked them about it and during a brief conversation they said they loved the band but didn’t love the new albums. Heretic Pride was the first Mountain Goats album I encountered “new” and I do, fairly or not, consider that a personal “break point” for the band between old and new. I’m sure for this person it was something similar.

It’s interesting to see how people respond to new albums as the band gets bigger. John Darnielle has said that a lot of people didn’t give The Life of the World to Come a fair shake because of the subject material. I have to wonder what those people thought of a “rock opera” about a fantasy land with wizards and dragons. It’s certainly not that strange, given the rest of the material John Darnielle has made, but it’s not The Sunset Tree.

In League with Dragons is partly what it was originally (fantasy town drama) and partly something else. It ends up being personal and distant at the same time, and it’s much more interesting as a result. “Clemency for the Wizard King” is from the first part, and John Darnielle joked when introducing it once that it’s about people asking for clemency for a wizard. It couldn’t be more direct. It’s a little odd, on an album with “Younger” and “Done Bleeding.” The album rewards successive listens as you tease out the story and fill in the missing pieces yourself, and while it’s not a deeply personal ballad, “Clemency for the Wizard King” does exactly what it needs to do.