29 Mar 2024
UsernamePassword

Remember Me? | Join | Recover
Click here to sign in via social networking

Fallstate - EP Review: Disorder and Symmetry

02 Dec 2019 // A review by Kerry MB

Well, that didn’t take long.

If you haven’t heard a single note of Hardcore, Pop-Punk infused band, Fallstate before, be prepared.

In the three short years they have been kicking about, they have wasted no time in making a name for themselves and I can see what all the fuss is about.

Disorder and Symmetry is the band’s second EP and it makes sure it has your attention. All of it.

Fallstate don’t seem to be in the business of giving you much option, because this EP is a literal assault of organised chaos. The options are, you will love it, that’s it. There is no room for second guessing here. Within milliseconds of opening track, Shovenpucker Master, you find out very quickly that Fallstate also don’t offer any foreplay. It’s frantic and feral, getting right in your face before you realize what’s happened.

What a trip.

They may still be considered 'new' in the scene but they certainly know what they’re doing with carefully constructed melody, head banging riffs, and an unapologetic sense of fun. While these seven tracks are only between four to five minutes in length each, they are able to pack a punch that tells you everything you need to know, but more importantly, they do it well.

Lyrically, the band are great storytellers and they draw you in. Despite their explosiveness, don’t be fooled, there is more to this band than meets the eye and they have a way of making you really listen and aren’t afraid to tell it like it is. Track three, Epilogue, is a great example of this, tackling the reality of mental health and suicide in a third person narrative. It’s stark and all too familiar with our country having one of the highest suicide rates in the world, particularly amid teenagers.

Further along, track five, DUI, will most certainly leave you a little shaken. One of the most beautifully constructed three minutes and fifty five seconds I have ever had the pleasure of hearing from a ‘younger’ band, unexpected amid their high energy offerings on this EP. The arrangement and melody is anthemic, evoking an immediate emotive response, quite literally giving me chills. Vocalist, Kurt Hughes brings a real vulnerability with his vocals here and not only is it hauntingly powerful, it is lyrically stunning.

The kid has heart.

It seems like there is a reason for having DUI carefully placed on this EP. Nestled somewhere in the middle, yet close to the end, giving you mere seconds to reflect before you’re thrown back into the fray of the last two tracks, Permanent Disaster and CS27. It’s a furious wild ride of energy right to the end.

Looking back, Disorder and Symmetry solidifies how strong Fallstate are as a band, not only in their musicianship but how well their music translates with their audience. What you hear, without a doubt is exactly what you get, seeing them live and they should all be proud of what they are achieving so far. It’s only going to get better.

Rating: ( 5 / 5 )
 

About Fallstate

Interests include: Pop-Punk, Pizza, Cutoffs,Undercuts, Snapbacks, Beer, Metal, Jumping in time to breakdowns, Gigs, Bruce Willis movies, Star Wars, Dressing in drag and trying to pick up undercover police officers on K-Road.




Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for Fallstate

Releases

Disorder & Symmetry
Year: 2021
Type: EP
Summer Nights & City Lights
Year: 2016
Type: Album
Friends
Year: 2016
Type: EP

Other Reviews By Kerry MB

Midwave Breaks - EP Review: Standing Inside Out
24 Mar 2024 // by Kerry MB
Midwave Breaks. The Tauranga duo that has what feels like a boundless creative energy, while also fitting in an impressive touring schedule that is here, there and everywhere.
Read More...
Album Review: The Transits
13 Feb 2024 // by Kerry MB
The Transits self-titled debut album is a result of 3 talented musicians who sucker punch with passion, creativity and consistency, and that’s just the opening track. With members across two countries (Dom Antelme (vocals, bass) and Tyrone Smith (drums) from Auckland, New Zealand and Ryan Lunn (vocals, guitars, synths) in Durban, South Africa, respectively.
Read More...
Oliver Birch - Album Review: To Remember
08 Feb 2024 // by Kerry MB
Auckland based musician, Oliver Birch is back with his second unveiling, the ten tracked album, To Remember. Another slab of self-written, produced, mixed and performed by Oliver Birch and confirmed as a concept album about the coming of age, and the trials and tribulations that come along with it.
Read More...
Pale Flag - EP Review: Imperium
29 Jan 2024 // by Kerry MB
With a lot of misconceptions about deathcore, it’d be easy to lump Pale Flag into “one of those bands” based on the sub-genre alone. Luckily, I love metal in the most extreme and Pale Flag just so happen to create deathcore of the finest, which makes it even better to enjoy.
Read More...
Samuel Keen - Album Review: Metamorphosis
07 Jan 2024 // by Kerry MB
Samuel Keen is a Christchurch based singer/songwriter that has been on the scene for a few years now, creating a musical path that is solely his own. With his fingers in all the pies, he is also part of Christchurch bands, The Snake Behaviour and Hecates Cult that lies somewhere between hard rock and heavy metal.
Read More...
Broke - EP Review: Douse Another Care
04 Dec 2023 // by Kerry MB
Broke are a five-piece from Taranaki who love to jam and make great music together. What started out originally as a solo project by Hamish McDonald (lead guitar and vocals) and resulted in a self-written, recorded and produced debut album Momento Mori in 2021, eventually paved the way for the lads to make it official and start creating new music together.
Read More...
The Honeybee Rocket Scientists - Album Review: VITA est CIRCO
02 Nov 2023 // by Kerry MB
The Honeybee Rocket Scientists are a two-piece Auckland Rock n Roll band that are nothing like you’ve heard before. A seamless and unique twist on surf rock combined with a hint of electro, grunge, punk, grunge and a healthy dose of distortion and melody.
Read More...
Newzerror - Album Review: Behind The Mask
30 Oct 2023 // by Kerry MB
Newzerror is a powerhouse couple that combine atmospheric, melodic industrial metal. Formed in 2021 and originally part of Bay of Plenty metal band, Ten Tonne Terror.
Read More...
View All Articles By Kerry MB

NZ Top 10 Singles

  • WE CAN'T BE FRIENDS (WAIT FOR YOUR LOVE)
    Ariana Grande
  • BEAUTIFUL THINGS
    Benson Boone
  • END OF BEGINNING
    Djo
  • LOSE CONTROL
    Teddy Swims
  • TEXAS HOLD 'EM
    Beyonce
  • STICK SEASON
    Noah Kahan
  • PRAISE JAH IN THE MOONLIGHT
    YG Marley
  • CARNIVAL
    Kanye West And Ty Dolla $ign
  • SATURN
    SZA
  • LOVIN ON ME
    Jack Harlow
View the Full NZ Top 40...
muzic.net.nz Logo
100% New Zealand Music
All content on this website is copyright to muzic.net.nz and other respective rights holders. Redistribution of any material presented here without permission is prohibited.
Report a ProblemReport A Problem