The Year End - 'Orchard' (Single)

Delware outfit The Year End shares beautiful experimental rock single, 'Orchard' taken from their new two-track EP, 'Two'. 

I’ve always felt I got off on the wrong foot with playing the guitar. Trying to learn riffs from Metallica's The Black Album on an upside-down right-handed guitar (I’m a lefty) has only served me with dismal technique, poor rhythm and no musical theory whatsoever. While I’m all for the rise in music with increased complexity, it’s a constant personal reminder of my own frail musical abilities. Why is this relevant? On listening to ‘Orchard’, the first of two tracks taken from The Year End’s aptly-titled ‘Two’ EP, there are plenty of intricate (‘tricky’) guitar lines that fans of clean-toned math-rock will certainly get a kick out of. The question asked with such musical moments is not whether I could play it (…I couldn’t), but whether a good song shines through or music for music’s sake takes hold.

’Orchard’ is certainly a bewildering track on first listen. By all accounts, bringing ‘Two’ together has been a lesson in patience, with it abruptly clear that a lack of musical ideas wasn't the stalling factor. Indeed, it’s almost a track of three parts, starting off with a dream-like swell of indie melodic groove that falls away to the more progressive elements mentioned previously. Vocal melody and guitar lines cleverly intertwine, with the themes of nostalgia and happy times providing the backbone of the song. ‘Orchard’ flows gently along, lulling the listener in a false sense of security, almost winding down quite beautifully before the band’s hardcore elements explode with a surprising, driving conclusion reminiscent of cult favourites Far.

Subsequent listens help the track be seen as a whole, taking in the tapped guitar lines and detailed flourishes along with the bigger moments on offer. Is it a good song though? Yes, it really is. ‘Two’, released in March of this year, can be found on The Year End’s Bandcamp page. Hopefully there’s much more to come.

Words of @DS_convertible