Port Arthur | photo by Marisa Riley | courtesy of the artist
Port Arthur mixes electrifying energy and impending doom on “The End Of The World”
Philly indie psych collective Port Arthur has mostly spent 2018 gigging and working on its second LP. After a beautiful entry in the 2018 Tiny Desk Contest that involved excellent use of strings and a tuba, the band is back this October with a new single called “The End of the World.” It jumps and drives like the best of the 90s Elephant 6 scene — I def hear bits of Elf Power and Neutral Milk Hotel in the mix here — and though upbeat, singer, songwriter and frontperson Luke Shefski confronts grave concerns in the song.
Over email, Shefski shares this about the writing process:
This song, particularly the lyrics, took some time to find its current form. Over the last few years, the anxiety of impending doom has bled into the mainstream, and I hit the writer’s desk over and over again in an attempt to reflect that. Musically, I wanted to electrify our arrangements while still maintaining the essential character of the band. Finding this balance was the first step toward crafting our new record.
Listen to “The End of the World” below.