Ether Island, “Season of Risk”

You can't get through any year without explicit mention of a foreboding apocalypse, but in 2012 the fruit of the tree of forewarning seems to be especially ripe. Ether Island imagines a rather retro nuclear winter, a prospect that seems quaint but also alarmingly more possible than ever, since there is a seemingly unbridled ability for complete nutcases to run countries with burgeoning nuclear abilities. The crisp vocals of kettle drummer Corinne Sweeney crackle over a fallout shelter radio frequency; the thumps of her bass drum echo like a distant artillery. As far as notices of world-ending go, this one is about ten times less silly than any sort of zombie apocalypse; it's a fear rooted in a possible real future.

Ether Island's Season of Risk 7-inch is available now from Not Not Fun.