Album Review: Because You Were There by Fallweather
Album artwork for Because You Were There by Fallweather
“There must be something in the water over there,” is a term so loosely attributed to every Tom, Dick, and Harry band that comes out of Australia, where people are quick to shout that phrase from the rooftops upon discovering a new band from down under. It’s almost completely lost its meaning amongst its overuse in TikTok taglines and flashy Instagram captions that you tend to skip past and pay no attention to a suggestion if it’s preceded or followed by those words. But when those words ring true, boy, do they stand on business.
With 3 EP’s to their name, counting back to 2024, it’s no surprise that Melbourne based, Post-Hardcore outfit, Fallweather, have come out the golden gates with a full arsenal behind their debut LP, “Because You Were There.” A discography as rich in sound, and even richer in emotion as theirs is, is one that should be delved into before even considering to press play on their debut, because you will not be equipped to bear the sheer ferocity of this album if you’re not familiar with the journey taken here. There’s time.
However, if you’re a consumer who takes a band into consideration from their recent works and travels back to witness their progression, then Pretty When You Cry will guide you into this euphoric dimension with tender hands, as ambience floods the room, quietly encouraged by almost undetectable spoken-words. “Because You Were There” is a record for those who have tapped into their supersonic hearing, and instead of using it to hear what gossip their neighbours are spewing 2 doors down, they use it to submerge themselves in every intricacy that feeds music. There’s no flamboyant entrance, no immediate display of “this is how low our guitars go,” or, “this is our vocalist sounds at level 100,” and that’s what makes an opening track like Pretty When You Cry unnervingly beautiful. It’s respectful, until it’s not, and that space that was once occupied by a caretaker gets condemned under the watch of the vandal, leaving you to succumb to the weight of crushing riffs that encapsulate romantic destruction, and vocal delivery so compelling you feel like Cullen Forbes is screaming at you personally. Only then do you realise what opening the door to this record truly entails.
What Fallweather have mastered is the art of keeping the elements of the genres that lead to Post-Hardcore, while simultaneously adding a veil of modernity that only serves to enhance. The conjunction of hardcore meeting melody is prominent throughout this record, with the drop tuned riffs having just enough vigor to empower the dancers to come out of their corners, aided more so by the distortion that’s been added so tastefully. Emphasising the melodic notes that appear every so often throughout a track gives “Because You Were There” a powerful sentiment, one that will resonate with you whether you like it or not. Once a Garden, Now a Grave is the epitome of what makes Post-Hardcore such an impeccable genre; high-energy mosh sections with complex song structure featuring dynamic shifts in volume, all sealed with lyrics that get you right in the chest, “I wish for the dying in me, to hurry up and finish.” Short pockets of silence between lyrics creep up on you every now and then, and they’re so abrupt it feels like you’re being kickstarted by a defibrillator, before you finally return to the room only to be met with an alarmingly minacious riff. Get the painkillers and ice pack ready, because Once a Garden, Now a Grave is the shining successor of the record, and it won’t take sitting still for an answer.
For Better or For Worse breaks this album in half, almost as if it’s heartbreak rendered into an interlude. The soundscape elevates you into delicacy and it feels like you’re travelling into a new dimension. While it doesn’t seamlessly transition between the previous and forthcoming tracks, it doesn’t feel starkly out of place. It doesn’t jump out of the shadows like an intruder, there’s still cohesion. But it does offer a brief 49 seconds to question, “What comes after this?” as if you’re asking one of life’s biggest unsolved mysteries.
The camaraderie between the UK and Australia is embodied on the track, Sometimes Like Weather. Liverpool exciters, Love Is Noise make their appearance and become a dual force to be reckoned with. Both vocalists push and pull on each other with how seamlessly they fit into the space to deliver lyrics. There’s no faltering from either band to accommodate the other, and this track sounds like it would be perfectly placed on a record from either side. Both bands are incredibly similar in the way their vocalists deliver when everything is at stake, but also in the tones used throughout their guitar and bass work. Maybe it’s a perfect collaboration, maybe it’s something else. The only certainty you can take from this track is that the collision of both bands canonises into a force that could start riots in heaven and calm the flames in hell.
You’re guided towards the end of the record by an interlude, You’ll Find Me, and while the transition into the penultimate track isn’t seamless, the track titles can be read to form a coherent sentence. Whether or not that was intentional is down to interpretation. A short soundscape featuring wind chimes and a sense of emptiness leads into Beneath The Dirt, the end of the story. The author that entered 11 tracks ago is now delivering their final words. Whereas a lot of other bands opt for an assailing crescendo to put the final nail in the coffin, Fallweather have taken a more creative approach, with a big chunk of the track being blissfully ambient. There’s no vocals akin to an escapee of the underworld, instead the guitars lead the way, offering melodies full of emotion with arms wide open to embrace anyone who felt this record in their chest. It sings to the tune of a “goodbye” rather than a “see you soon” which makes it all the more heavy to hold.
There’s something different about the way Fallweather have made their mark on the modern scene, but it’s not something you can put your finger on, and that’s just a sentiment to how compelling they are in a sea of stagnancy. One might believe that they deserved the attention that this record is going to bring 2 years ago, but there’s no denying that they’re going to see a surge in credibility. There’s so much to say about this record but also not enough at the same time. While they haven’t reinvented their sound drastically, they have continued to polish the glowing parts of Fallweather that make them so undeniably refreshing to listen to with each repeat. Every chorus is front loaded with passion and heavy emotional hooks, you can’t help but feel enveloped by them, and every shift in volume and pace is determined and deliberate. “Because You Were There” is the tragically destructive parts of love and heartbreak, like you’ve just grabbed the Sun out of the sky to give to your significant other, only for them to tell you that they prefer the Moon.
FFO: Love Is Noise, Thornill, Bloom
SCORE: 9/10
Because You Were There is out on all streaming platforms on Wednesday 19th August, released via Papercut Records.
