Pallbearer – “Endless Place”
Next month, Arkansas psychedelic doom overlords Pallbearer will follow their 2020 album Forgotten Days with the much-anticipated new LP Mind Burns Alive. The record only has six songs, but at least a couple of those songs are long — not exactly a surprise if you’re familiar with Pallbearer’s past records. Lead single “Where The Light Fades” clocked in at seven minutes. Today, Pallbearer have gone even bigger, dropping a song that lasts nearly 11 minutes.
Pallbearer’s new track “Endless Place” is not technically endless, but it could comfortably take up a full side of an LP by itself. Like many Pallbearer tracks, it goes through multiple movements, but the basic sound — sad prog-folk vocal harmonies over deep-crunch riffage — sustains a mood throughout. “Endless Place” is the first Pallbearer song to feature a guest musician, as Amasa Hines’ Norman Williamson comes in to play an emotional, echo-drenched saxophone solo. It would be cool if that happened during the band’s live shows.
In a press release, Pallbearer’s Brett Campbell says, “These are vignettes which tell the stories of people who deal with myriad sicknesses of the spirit. These are illnesses communicated by the world we live in, and the subjects are the symptoms of its disease.” Below check out director Dan Almasy’s stately black-and-white video for “Endless Place.”
Mind Burns Alive is out 5/17 on Nuclear Blast.