The End Times - self released

Since their last single The End Times have expanded on their sound with this orchestral country A-Side but if you were looking for some optimistic, uplifting tracks to start the day...just don't pay attention to the lyric. The End Times are sharpening their sickle out back by the shed, waiting for someone to make that very mistake.

A-Side's "Days of Plenty" goes right into a complex finger picked high strung acoustic with a rim shot shuffly rhythm. Jennifer Green's vocal is doubled up in a twin harmony delivering the bad news that (spoiler alert) the days of plenty are over - perfect for The End Times - but that's just coincidence I'm sure. Sounds like the days of plenty are how good we've all got it now in this country and it's got to end sometime. If anything though they deliver the message in a catchy disarming way that twists the knife once they got it in. Listen to the lyric? What? A pedal steel solo is inherently beautiful and it continues into the electric getting distorted. After the tornado rips through the dustbowl they go back to that somber opening verse and it's just Jennifer hanging out by the drum kit waiting to be the bearer of bad news almost enjoying this 'I told you so' sentiment.
B-Side's "Cursed with hot blood" could have been the name of a Slayer bootleg but instead The End Times recorded a thunderstorm off in the distance and played foot tapping acoustic in a tiny room just off the porch which continues through the track. Jennifer sings her own harmony again, not only in different keys but with a different vocal quality entirely like a country sister act. The 'hot blood' leads this character to a lot of bad decisions involving beds but she's cursed. It goes from a quiet folk stomper to more energetic pleading number in hopes of stopping the nymphomania. I'm beginning to think that it's the most appropriately titled band in existence (besides Slayer) and these are tracks from a yet to be named conceptual full length.

Get this from the band direct at their bandcamp page.