Beta Radio, the folk duo consisting of Ben Mabry and Brent Holloman, writes music “evoking serenity” and “emit an incandescent optimism" according to American Songwriter. Their new album Waiting for the End to Come marks the first time they’ve worked with other songwriters (including Ben Cramer of Old Sea Brigade). During a writing retreat in Nashville the two friends shared a creative experience that bordered on the spiritual. The songs are grounded in a physicality that’s gorgeously set against the sonic wall of acoustic guitars, strings, and the harmonies for which Beta Radio has become so well known. But on this album, that energy is underpinned and supported by the broad shoulders of narrative-driven songwriting that feels urgent, tactile, and resonant. “Wheel of Wonder” is a song laced with opportunity: the opportunity for transcendence, of coming home, of finding your place in the world amidst the march of time. “Is there a world that was here before you?” Ben asks. “And will there be one when you go away?” As the music swells beneath Brent’s finger-picked guitar, a refrain of religious icons and spiritual conduits builds as Ben sings, “Hari Krishna, Hallelujah/Ayahuasca, Wheel of Wonder/At St. Peter’s, Holy Water/Veil of Wonder, Holy Mother.” The refrain becomes a meditation that closes the song, transcending the physical for something higher, knowing all the while that the music will return us to the moment of ourselves.