I discovered Beta Radio when their 2014 album Colony of Bees came out, falling in love with the song ‘Take My Photograph’. The duo of Ben Mabry and Brett Holloman create indie folk songs that are completely in my taste profile. As the final track on their 2024 album of the same name, I was drawn to ‘Waiting For The End To Come’ with its solid foundation of guitar and piano and lyrical exploration of the human condition.
As with many songs I love, we begin with just a guitar. Ben faintly sings the melody, before the bass, drums, and piano come in with the first verse. The lyrics paints vivid pictures: lying in a field smoking weed or chasing the high of a teenage experience. It brings to mind the journey of one’s youth, to understand the world and your place in it, wondering how it will all end.
The backing vocals in the second half of the verse help propel us towards the chorus:
But time demands
You can’t wait around a silhouette in a door
Insides sinking, thinking what to do
Life commands you
And it burns you up a cigarette on the floor
From the inside on the verge of something new
I love the imagery here, the silhouette in a door describing indecision or uncertainty. I get the message that time and the universe are not going to wait for us. For me, this song brings up bigger questions. Sometimes we know things are coming to an end; there’s a natural close or the end of a cycle. Other times, the mystery is maddening, we have no idea what the universe has in store for us. We are at the whims of forces we can’t influence and often don’t understand. Is it part of being human, to be curious about what’s going to happen next? Often the sadness of an ending can be offset by the joy of a new beginning.
The strings weaving through the chorus are a beautiful addition, providing a counterpoint to the rhythmic guitar and piano. After the first chorus, there’s a short gap to enjoy that gorgeous melody before the second verse which is foreshadowing for the instrumental break after the second chorus.
Electric guitar makes an appearance in the instrumental break and it feels like we’re ramping up to something big. So it’s a surprise when the outro is a drop down chorus. All instruments disappear except a piano and a guitar and a smattering of drums. This is the final track on the album which could explain why it ended like this. Maybe it would have been just as workable to do a fade out on a epic chorus. But the end to me feels like I’ve softly landed in a hot air balloon in a field after slowing coasting down from the clouds. It feels reflective and the heavy contents have some gravity.
Given most of don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow, its probably a good idea you listen to this song, before the end comes.