Moon King's Daniel Benjamin describes the band's debut album as "a collection of very sad songs played with all the joy and energy possible."
That just about sums up the track "Apocalypse," and the title alone already checks off the "very sad" part. But of course, it's the lyrics that do the actual brooding: "Somehow I feel no release when I'm alone with anyone else, somehow I fall to pieces when I wake up to nothing where you should be," Maddy Wilde -- the other half of the Toronto-based duo -- sings lethargically, hanging on each word with an elongated drawl.
Musically, you do get the paradox Benjamin is referring to in spite of what's lyrically conveyed. The opening melody is anything but melancholic, and while it does initially lumber, the general tone hints at an escalation, which starts at the 0:56 mark once the guitar chords enter. At that point the momentum builds with strums and hi-hat hits gradually picking up speed, while Wilde lingers on the words less and less. Then, after about another minute, "Apocalypse" finally explodes into a cathartic anthem that, true to Benjamin's remark, channels all the possible joy and energy into the depressive tune.
Moon King's record Secret Life is set for release on April 14.
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