The Lower 48 “The End”
Anyone who has ever lived life has dealt with a “BFF” situation that doesn’t live up to that final “F”, so here’s two points for Portland-by way of-Minneapolis indie folk act The Lower 48 for their “The End”‘s instant relatable factor…followed by a buttload more for the way they beautifully bring the plot to life.
Powered by a gently peppy strum jangle, and the sweet, near-whispered intimacy of the lead boy/ girl harmonies, “The End” is a soothing homespun ear massage from beginning to end that’s made only better by the nice bits of lyrical detail they bring to a story centered on a once-strong friendship gone south: Hearing “It’s been awhile since I seen you/ I start to smile to cover change of states from green to blue/ You don’t talk to me and reacting properly/ I don’t ever talk to you”, feelings of awkwardness pierce the bones as if you’re one of the characters in the scene, while nostalgia for the days when “we entertained thoughts that nothing here could break us up” carry a bittersweet ring that fills the throat with knots.
It’s the chorus that’s the real emotional sinker here though, the band’s stamp of closure on the relationship (“Oh I release you my old friend…”) followed soon after by a lone violin wail basically daring you not to get at least a little choked up inside from the sadness of it all.
From the band’s newly dropped debut, Where All Maps End.
“The End” (DL) (iTunes) (Amazon):
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