“The apocalypse seems like the most appropriate subject,” Ancient Warfare singer Echo Wilcox says in a statement of her band’s debut LP, The Pale Horse. “Not in an epic sense, but in a sense that’s all encompassing.” Indeed, that sense of all-encompassing decay permeates the video for “Gunsmoke,” the first to be taken from The Pale Horse. Wilcox and her band set up what could almost pass for a classic waltzing pop song, only to let the entire thing erode into formless guitar and fury. On the screen, an anonymous traveler does his best to reassemble his life, with less-than-stellar results.
And while these sorts of things—apocalypse, entropy, undead takes on country music—all border on kitsch, Wilcox’s power as a songwriter, and the conviction of her band, sell it perfectly. It’s compelling, even horrifying. See for yourself below.
Catch Ancient Warfare in person at the stops below.
October
1 — Lexington, KY — The Green Lantern (with Seluah)
