The War & Treaty Channel Seventies Soul in New Song ‘Five More Minutes’

This fall, the Nashville-based duo the War & Treaty will be returning with their self-produced second album Hearts Town, the follow-up to the band’s 2018 debut Healing Tide. That album, which was produced by Buddy Miller, earned the War & Treaty gigs opening for Al Green and resulted in the band taking home the award for Emerging Act of the Year at the 2019 Americana Awards show.

The latest release from their forthcoming album is “Five More Minutes,” an up-tempo roots-rocker with an opening horn riff that conjures early Seventies Hi Records gold. The band’s lead singers and spouses Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya-Blount Trotter trade off on verses before harmonizing on the song’s urgent chorus.

There’s also a poignant backstory to the uplifting song, which was a live staple in the band’s sets throughout 2019.

“After years of falling in and out of financial and mental depression, I had finally had enough,” said Trotter, referring to the mental heath struggles and PTSD that followed his time as a soldier in Iraq in 2004. “I was ready to take my own life. But in my darkest moment, where I was ready right then and there to end it all, my wife Tanya asked one last thing of me: ‘Just give me five more minutes. Stay with me. Just five more minutes to love you.’ And something in her eyes, something in her hands convinced me to give her that five more minutes.”

The War & Treaty have previously released the songs “Jealousy” and “Hustlin,’” which will both be included on Hearts Town. The new album arrives September 25th via Rounder Records.