"The Apocalyptic Horsemen" by KC Jones

Occasionally  I suggest in an article that a particular song might make a good choice for a single. I also from time to time say it directly to an artist. I do tend to get variations on "thank you: maybe" when people don't agree but are too polite to say so directly.

With "The Apocalyptic Horsemen", the new (it's out on the first of June) single by the KC Jones Duo, it's clear that multiple people had said this to them about the song: so  by popular demand they've made it happen. If this process is common then to be honest I can't say I'm aware of it: I imagine it's something of a discreet one.

Performed by Karen on vocals, guitar and mandola and Colin on vocals, guitar and bass, they are joined by Mick Bisiker on drums (he also produced the single at his Rack and Ruin Studios).

A strong subject, one which you might think would be an unlikely one to engender widespread popular enthusiasm, it's a credit to the pair that they tackled a theme more associated with heavy metal and that their fans favoured it so over more feelgood fare.

Karen credits the idea as one of those which just came to her initially one morning, but she developed it to encompass a fifth rider: humanity and so the song ended up with a message that "…catastrophe is avoidable if we only care enough…" which does fit more plausibly into the KC Jones songbook.

Can a writer "make the apocalypse her own"? It sounds an awful prospect but between them they have found a way to tackle the subject in a way of their own choosing. That, as you might guess is to lighten the musical template from the Sturm und Drang normally associated with it to.. well what you might reasonably expect from KC Jones.

The sound features a range of flavours which together evoke both more distant times and places: are we in Elizabethan times? Or the Balkans? The Levant? I suppose this tends to universalise the theme and also possibly nudge the story nearer to Biblical settings.

As the fury & destruction are dialled back, what we actually get is an overwhelming sense of sadness: with plenty of implied reproach. It's a novel and bold take but one which has as much, if not more veracity than a full on massive sound effects evocation of the end of days. It also suggests that this may not be inevitable and that we have agency in the matter.

So why do KC Jones fans clamour for "The Apocalyptic Horsemen"? Good question. I suppose the result being a beautifully played melodic piece provides much of an answer. Folk music loves weaving sadness into its songs and frankly is a bit addicted to murders. Well death tolls don't come much more extensive than the apocalypse do they?

I think Karen & Colin probably relished getting their teeth into a meaty subject & one normally conveyed with cliches & thus ripe for reinvention. I can safely say that they've pulled it off.