Finnish indie outfit Pennies By The Pound are back with their new invigorating single ‘The End Times’, the second single from their upcoming concept album ‘Nothingside’, which is anticipated for release in early 2023 via the Lilith label.
Relative to the first single ‘Burning Wish’, which was beautiful expression of optimism and adventure channelled through a fantastic prism of British progressive rock, this song explores the opposite end of the spectrum of emotions conveyed on this sophomore album.
Pulsing with the rhythms and sounds of the neon-lit eighties, ‘The End Times’ takes the listener on a ride through the turbulent times we (as well as the protagonists of the story) are experiencing at present, keeping sight of the light at the end of the tunnel – even if it is an oncoming train.
“This song is something completely different than anything we’ve ever done before, almost alien to us in many ways. Most of the credit for that goes to our producer Mr. Eskolin, who was instrumental in making this song happen in the first place,” says frontman Johannes Susitaival.
“If I’ve mentioned before about the influence of all sorts of 80s records on this album as a whole, this is definitely the climax of all that. If you check out the video, you’ll especially know what I mean. The subject matter of the album as a whole is a bit heavy, so we tried to bring out some light-hearted fun for a change!”
As with previous releases, the Helsinki-based band worked with Ride frontman Mark Gardener, who mastered the track at his OX4 Sound Studio in Oxford, and top national producer Rauli ‘Rake’ Eskolin, who has had over a dozen No.1 records in Finland to his name in the past 20 years.
Pennies by the Pound was formed by Johannes Susitaival and Vesa Ranta around 2017, with the lineup expanded in the next few years by first Tomi Laaksonen and then Alexander Meaney, both musicians from previous related projects. Having written for a variety of bands, Johannes began exploring his passion for alternative and progressive rock, which led to Pennies’ self-produced ‘Bloodshed and the Blinding Sunlight’ EP in 2018, followed by their debut album ‘Heat Death of the Universe’ in 2020. This new release takes them to yet another realm beyond that.
As of December 9, ‘The End Times’ will be released across digital stores and streaming platforms, including Apple Music, Spotify and Bandcamp, where you can also pre-order the full album directly from the band.
CREDITS
Music by Johannes Susitaival and Rauli Eskolin
Lyrics by Johannes Susitaival
Arranged by Pennies By The Pound and Rauli Eskolin
Johannes Susitaival – vocals, guitar, keyboards
Vesa Ranta – lead guitar
Tomi Laaksonen – bass
Alexander Meaney – guitar
Rauli Eskolin – programming, keyboards, guitar
Produced, recorded and mixed by Rauli Eskolin
Mastered by Mark Gardener at OX4 Sound
VIDEO CREDITS
Directed by Martin Brown with Pennies By The Pound
Edited by Martin Brown
Cameras by Martin Brown and Sam Gurung
Post-production by Sam Gurung
With assistance from Jayson Rohde
‘The End Times’ ISRC FI-LLH-22-00010
‘Burning Wish’ ISRC FI-LLH-22-00002
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