Truth or Consequences New Mexico Photo credit: Tracy Conoboy
The over-driven alt-country band Truth or Consequences New Mexico is not based in the American southwest but instead in the heart of the upper Midwest in Chicago. Helmed by the two songwriters Cora Pancoast and Jack Parker, they seamlessly weave alt-country and the harder edges of indie-rock together, along with hints of folk and punk. The Big Takeover is pleased to announce the band’s second EP This Time of Year with their lead single “Seed of Doubt,” a song that is the very definition of catharsis.
The single features Pancoast on vocals, it starts off strong with a slide guitar weeping alongside her. The song builds up consistently while using sparser sections smartly, filled out by bassist Ben Goldenberg and drummer Carys Uribe. The result, Pancoast says, heightens the desperation in her vocals. In the last third of the song, she gives the microphone everything she has, singing if I do that for you, then I’ll do anything louder and louder until the song ends with her screaming.
Pancoast says of the single:
I wrote the lyrics while sitting in a car on the way to Detroit. I was stuck in a mental rut, going over all the vulnerabilities, uncertainties, and fears of the future I had trying to build relationships after over a year of pandemic lockdown. I had to externalize it somehow. When I came to the band with sketches, we were able to create periodic points of rest with sparser or quieter arrangements, so that the desperation in the climax seemed even more intense.
As with a lot of songs on the EP, you can hear everyone’s influences in the whole — Ben’s walking bassline, Carys’ explosive fills, and Jack’s folk-inspired lead line — and it feels incredible that my tangle of struggles turned into something much more nuanced. It’s probably my favorite song to play live now — the ending scream is physically taxing but incredibly cathartic, like running a musical marathon.
Truth or Consequences New Mexico draws from an array of indie-rock bands on the upcoming EP but with a keen ear on key Chicago influences, like Uncle Tupelo and Ratboys. While the band said they focused on creating an atmosphere less tied to the live set on the upcoming EP, their execution of “Seed of Doubt” only draws more curiosity to experience the song live.
This Time of Year will be released on April 11 with tapes from Don’t Worry Records.
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