Prophet & The Cowboys of Apocalypse - 2021 - Last Days in Paradise

(67:31; Nasty Prick Records)

Track list:
1. Silent Tears Pt. 1 1:07
2. Last Days in Paradise 4:55
3. Kate 4:43
4. The Woods 3:54
5. Little Red Riding Hood 3:28
6. Prophet in Black 3:15
7. Cowboys of Apocalypse 8:05
8. Ghosts on the Trail 5:07
9. PC Crap 4:35
10. I Believe in America 1:04
11. The Beauty of You 3:26
12. White Wedding 3:24
13. I Believe in You 7:33
14. There You Go Again 6:28
15. Silent Tears Pt. 2 1:19
16. In Memory of Scottie 5:08

Line-up:
Prophet - vocals
with:
Scott Tower - guitars
Tim Conroy - drums, percussion, guitars
Ted Beer - guitars
Dale Cannon - bass
Lars Petrini - harmonica, mandolin
Neal Harris - bass
Dave Cornwall - keyboards, orchestration
Bruce Wilkison - violin
Brandon Mohlis - various instruments
Steve Van Peursem - guitars
Ryan Schwartz - guitars
Kevin McConnell - piano


US project Prophet & the Cowboys of Apocalypse has been a on and off venture for a decade or thereabouts, with the main man of this project preferring to go by the moniker Prophet for this part of his musical endeavours. "Last Days in Paradise" is the second studio album by Prophet & the Cowboys of Apocalypse, and was released through the label Nasty Pric Records in the spring of 2021.

As one might expect from a band project using this name, and especially using the cover art that they do here, this is music that has the sound of the US of A all over it. More Americana than Country in this case, and not too much Western at hand either - other than in the lyrics department.

The acoustic guitar and the lead vocals are the key ingredients throughout. We get a rhythm section on some cuts, and other instruments and instrumentalists chime in with various types of guitars, a violin as well as a fiddle and various forms of tangent instruments also make appearances. Mainly as secondary instruments, but with some other instruments occasionally given a solo run or a more prominent placement in the mix. Just about everything revolves around Americana and singer/songwriter type of material though, with a little bit of Country sneaking in and also one case of a more Southern oriented hard rock number complete with playful guitar and harmonica backing. The moods and atmospheres tend to be melancholic and longing, going on dark and brooding in many cases but also with a couple of cases of more jubilant landscapes explored, with fanfares literally included in one of the songs. Otherwise sound effects are used to emphasize the moods and the atmospheres in quite a few of the compositions.

In general this is a fine album of its kind, and this is a production that will satisfy the needs of many with an affection for this type of music. That being said, there are two aspects of this album that may be somewhat divisive. One of them is that the Prophet is very fond of using vibrato style vocals, and to my ears at least they are also a bit more on the wavering side of matters than on the controlled level of the scale. While this does add a lot of pathos to the material, this isn't a vocal style that is universally enjoyed. Hence an affection for liberal amounts of vibrato vocals and a certain amount of pathos being in use will be something of a requirement to be able to enjoy this production.

The second element that merits a mention are the lyrics. Normally this isn't an aspect of an album I have too many opinions on, but as the vocals are so dominant on this album, and the vocals function a bit more as a lyrics provider and somewhat less as a part of the instrumentation, this dimension does get a bit more automatic attention. While not an aspect in all of the songs, on a handful of compositions it will be a clear advantage if the listener is the kind of person that looks at the US flag and feels a surge of pride while doing so, and who also will utter the phrase 'In God We Trust' with both pride and passion. That one of the songs is devoted to a comment on the expression political correctness is a part of this greater context too, in my opinion. This is an aspect and a dimension to this album that will limit its overall appeal outside of the US somewhat, and I know people stateside that would feel that lyrical content of this nature would be an alienating feature as well - on both sides of the political spectrum. This aspect will be a big positive for some listeners too of course. Hence this isn't a quality issue, but it is a divisive one.

All in all this is a fine and well made slice of Americana, with elements and undercurrents of jubilant as well as dark Country present alongside melancholic creations with more of a singer/songwriter orientation. With a dip into hard rock territories as a one-off left turn along the way. The vocal style and some of the lyrics may not be to everybody's taste, but for those who enjoy both of those elements this album will obviously also be regarded as so much better due to these specific aspects. A good album with strong points as far as I'm concerned, and for the perfect audience the album rating will obviously be a bit higher than that.

Olav M. Björnsen, October 2022

Links:
https://prophetcowboys.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/NastyPrickRecords