I don’t write about a lot of instrumental music. It’s not that I’m against it, but I think as a writer I gravitate towards tracks with lyrics. They resonate with me because it’s clear what they have to say. “The Boring Apocalypse,” the latest single from Melbourne duo Farewell Horizontal is different. It manages to give commentary on the pandemic without ever saying a word.
“Early in the pandemic, a friend said they didn’t expect the apocalypse to be so protracted and chaos-free. I demo’d it with guitar playing the tune, thinking I’d replace it with vocals, but then I got attached,” explained Pat Walker, Farewell Horizontal vocalist, guitarist, and bassist. “So then I started thinking about doing it like a Shadows type thing. Was also thinking about the spacious bop of a lot of peak Sonic Youth (Murray Street – Sonic Nurse – Rather Ripped) with the breathing band-in-a-room being both powerful and gentle in guitar and drum tones.”
The video is pretty apt for a single about the “boring apocalypse.” It features security camera footage from drummer Lauren Lime’s front gate.
“There was something kind of interesting about the mundane day to day of a busy Thornbury road during the pandemic that felt kind of apt for a boring apocalypse theme,” she added.
“The Boring Apocalypse” comes from Farewell Horizontal’s third album, You’re Not an Empath, which is available to stream on all your favourite services and purchase from the band’s Bandcamp page.
Image used with permission from Farewell Horizon