Sentries in the Ambush

398. Sentries in the Ambush

Alex Russell Sentries in the Ambush , , , , , ,

“Sentries in the Ambush” offers a look into what In League with Dragons was before the finished product emerged.

Track: “Sentries in the Ambush”
Album: Sentries in the Ambush EP (2019)

On the Bandcamp page for the Sentries in the Ambush EP John Darnielle describes exactly what “Sentries in the Ambush” is. This was one of the songs for the original version of In League with Dragons when it was a fantasy story about a town called Riversend and actual, literal dragons and wizards and such. The final album is very different, though it has some elements of that original story, and thus “Sentries in the Ambush” is on an EP and not on the main album.

The song is about people who fight and die in an ambush. It’s literal. You can pick it out from the lyrics, but none of that is as interesting as the “how” of the song. John Darnielle doubles his vocals even on the demo which became the final version. He calls it “a pretty crazy little thing” and whew, he’s right. The doubling here pairs it well with the waltz “Divided Sky Lane” that accompanies it on the EP, but it works better here. The pace is frenetic and it makes sense, given these characters are in chaos. “Slaughter them if you can // kill them all where they stand” is delivered the only way it could be, and then it all peters out with John Darnielle saying “and so on” with a laugh. I’m often a fan of the proof-of-concept demo songs and this is no exception, even with the end being a joke. In League with Dragons ended up being a better album than the story of Riversend would have been, probably, but do take the time to appreciate what might have been.

284. Divided Sky Lane

Alex Russell Sentries in the Ambush , , , , , , , ,

John Darnielle steers into Elliott Smith territory (though he’d tell you that’s wrong) with “Divided Sky Lane.”

Track: “Divided Sky Lane”
Album: Sentries in the Ambush EP (2019)

On the podcast episode of I Only Listen to the Mountain Goats about the production of “Divided Sky Lane” John Darnielle spoke frankly about the production of the track and why it didn’t make the album. It’s a waltz, which is already a bold choice. It’s also a waltz with double-tracked vocals. “Elliott Smith didn’t invent the waltz,” John Darnielle says with frustration in his voice, but he says that any time you do a song like this and you use that device, you inevitably draw the comparison. Phoebe Bridgers contends with the same comparison but does so deliberately.

“Divided Sky Lane” doesn’t fit on In League with Dragons for a bunch of reasons. It sounds really strange when you listen to it with the other songs on the album, but it’s also about personal, possibly romantic, longing. John Darnielle rattles off every song and crosses them off a list of topics in that podcast episode and says that the album isn’t about that, so the song doesn’t fit. Both sonically different and thematically dissimilar, that’s how you find the cutting room floor.

In his early career, John Darnielle saved the best for the EPs and the international-only releases. He said that he did that on purpose out of some kind of willfulness, but that doesn’t happen now. The EPs are always interesting, but “Divided Sky Lane” isn’t better than any song on In League with Dragons, in my opinion. The vocal effect is creepy and compelling, but I think it clouds out the loneliness of the song. I’m sure many people disagree, but it’s always felt like a curiosity to me that I can’t quite unlock.