Falecity | Is This The Point (I Never See You Again)? | CP004CD
01 | My Friend 02 | Laugh At Me 03 | Stupid
04 | A Long Way Out (I'll Keep My Stealth) 05 | Dracule 06 | Hallway 07 | Play It Cruel
08 | I'll Keep Myself 09 | Movement 10 | Morning/Mourning Time
11 | I Don't Have A Name 12 | Time To Time
Ltd edition fold out packaging with pictures inside.
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Kicking off the proceedings is the fast-paced, indie rock 'My Friend'. Subtle, yet sophisticated drumming driving the song from the edgy, rhythmic verses to the swinging smooth chorus, the song eventually climaxing with a screaming yet understated guitar solo.
Next up a change of tempo and time signature finds us waltzing to the elegant, lavishly produced 'Laugh At Me'; the name perhaps resonating with a major theme of the album, a resolute refusal to take themselves seriously. Whilst the subject matter is always heartfelt, and at times (particularly in the case of 'I'll Keep Myself' or 'Hallway') reaches an uneasy, challenging intensity, we are never far from a reminder of life's absurdity. "I walk through your security..." sits alongside "Can't you tell, that my jokes are meant to fail?" in a song to yet another girl that could have been.
This self-effacing wit resurfaces in several song names 'Stupid' and 'I Have no Name' (a simple, almost childlike acoustic instrumental with a playful keyboard lead). Stupid starts fragile, but a humble beginning grows into a noisy, multi-layered distortion rich ending before segueing into a richly produced, beatsy bridge, based around a single chord that links it to Movement pt.III. In turn Movement pt.III is a sparkling, enchanting song in its own right (although it shares the track 3 slot with Stupid, presumably as Falecity felt they were inseparable), lead guitars sparkle between searing peaks as the song is delivered in almost tidal surges proclaiming 'I've travelled so far" - a theme that is revisited later on the CD. An epic track that wears its heart on its sleeve.
Scattered throughout the album are highly intimate largely acoustic offerings. 'Movement pt.I' is perhaps Falecity at their most sensitive. Lyrics delivered with real intent, hint at the true depth of sentiment behind the songs. While among these sparser, largely acoustic songs are perhaps the album's bleakest moments such as the haunting 'A Long Way Out'. we also find the anthemic 'Play It Cruel'. A sprightly and upbeat song split into two halves, the second half complete with trademark faux mispronunciation "She's just playing it cruel... uh... I mean cool" and rich production involving multiple guitars, subtle percussion and layer upon layer of vocals. The basic melody is so catchy that this song would sit comfortably on any teen TV drama soundtrack... in a good way!
At the other end of the spectrum we find a song like 'Hallway'. Quite unique to our ears, starting with a dark and sinister introduction before hitting the hefty, snarling spoken word vocals delivered through a plethora of noise and distortion, before abruptly ending for another melodic segment to begin.
Similarly the album's closer 'Time to Time' is a startling track. Starting with a rhythmic, melodic drive we hit the end of the first verse with the lyric "...when she died, I felt I did too" which hits almost as hard as the wave of distortion that is the first chorus. It seems the song is bound to continue along these lines, however, just as you thought you had the layout of the track, feedback and delayed guitar twinned with jazz influenced drums take the song in a whole new and exciting direction till eventually the soaring ebow guitars subside and the familiar bass and drum part fade back in taking us to a truly explosive ending.
Each song on the album takes the listener on a journey, and it's only once the album is over it hits you how much diversity there is. Falecity's sound is often that of a traditional post rock/indie guitar band, but there is always some unique innovation to keep the listener interested, a moment of raw intensity, the continuous surprise from the meticulously detailed production. And while twinning the themes of love, fear, existentialism, frustration and loss with a six string maybe familiar, we know of no other band like this.
We give you Falecity.