Staying true to folk roots while not getting entrenched in its antiquities, the Nashville indie folk quartet McKay made the genre relevant for this generation with their larger-than-life rendition of their latest single, Last Man Alive.
If you have ever immersed yourself in apocalyptic sci-fi media and wondered if you would have the determination to endeavour or simply submit to the same fate that removed the majority of the planet, you’ll hear familiar thoughts and questions echoed back at you. But McKay goes even further by touching on all of the ways that we make sense of space and time as society keeps on buzzing away. It’s impossible not to become caught up in a state of contemplation as you listen to the harmonica blow over the raw folk chords and Hudson Haining’s pontificating vocals, which bring you right into the introspective world the promising outfit constructed.
With the evocative pull of Deathcab for Cutie fused with the sonics of Neutral Milk Hotel, McKay’s sound is original as it is intimately affecting.
Last Man Alive will be available to stream on all major platforms from January 28; stream it on SoundCloud first.
Review by Amelia Vandergast