“If This Is The End” by Project Blackbird: the opening song, and title track, of the thirteen-song album freshly released by the sonically-ambitious quartet.

The title track is the perfect opener for the album, being as eclectic on its own as the whole package, and showcases the band’s sound fabulously. The warm, soothing vocals of Ming Nagel are supported by a rich aural palette that welds a wide-array of influences and textures together to create a beautifully complex piece.

Coming in at five-and-a-half minutes long, the band are confident in pursuing their musical vision, which is wonderful to see: nowadays, some songs (by a variety of artists) suffer from being too short due to pressure from radios and streaming playlists wanting short songs for consumption. As such, we admire the courage and self-belief that Project Blackbird have, releasing an album full of longer, more intricate songs that culminates in the album being sixty-five minutes long, which presents the listener with the wonderful opportunity of escaping this world for over an hour by allowing themself to be absorbed by the music.