The Last Resort

“We\'re always trying to challenge ourselves as far as what the presentation looks like and be thoughtful in terms of creating a space that is interesting, both visually and sonically,” Midland singer Mark Wystrach tells Apple Music of *The Last Resort*, which comes mere months after the release of their documentary soundtrack *The Sonic Ranch*. The loosely conceptual EP conjures images of a desert resort flanked by palm trees and tall drinks, a setting that suits the trio’s left-of-center take on traditionally informed, playfully contemporary Texas country music. It also has an edge to it, as the band explains the EP was partially inspired by the jarring changes wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic. “Our last headlining gig was in front of 80,000-plus people at the Houston Rodeo, and you kind of go from that, from feeling like you\'re on top of the world, like everything\'s rolling your way,” Wystrach says. “It did feel like you\'d kind of arrived at a place that\'s at the end of the road, and it\'s not necessarily glamorous and it\'s not glitzy, but it\'s also not horrible.”