Review: Falling Floors ‘Falling Floors’
In a case of history repeating itself, just like the last few months of 2021, 2022 is seeing a flood of releases towards the end of the year, and like last year, I randomly selected a band to review based on their name and promo description that wound up being a year-end, eye-opener. Last year it was Italy’s Bentrees, this year it’s the UK’s Falling Floors, a self-described psych rock trio who’ve just released their self-titled debut album, and it’s one of the cooler debuts I’ve come across this year.
Evidently, Falling Floors, Rob Herian on guitar and vocals, Harry Wheeler on bass and keys, and Colin Greenwood on drums came together during the pandemic lockdown and set about creating their take on psych rock, with some ‘70s, prog and kraut rock incorporated into the mix. For one thing, Falling Floors feels organic, jam-like, and spacious, as witnessed in the addictive opener Infinite Switch with its many moods and movements.
Starting with a trippy, strumming attack, that crescendos with some slightly noisy rock, yells from Herian, and some serious drum-bashing from Greenwood, before the band settles into a driving, killer, groove, with some delicious clean guitar playing from Herian, as he leads Falling Floors into the next astral plane with his trance-like guitar playing. Infinite Switch is actually one of the cooler songs I’ve come across over the last few months and it seems accurate to describe the song as the bands mission statement for this record.
for fans of psych rock, kraut rock, and trippy instrumentals that is worth the price of admission for Infinite Switch alone…
After Making A Scene, the first of three ‘interludes’, which in this case is some volume/key manipulation, the first single Ridiculous Man slowly begins to creep out of the speakers. In another slow burn, Falling Floors take their time getting going, parts of this song really lean into the ‘psych’ aspect of the band, and again, Herian’s clean, trance-like guitar strumming is of note. Following the second ‘interlude’, Negotiations, we reach the instrumental Flawed Theme, which again, takes it’s time unfolding, as we get some pretty heavy/fuzzy, almost sludgy guitar and bass for the first time on the album. Herian and Wheeler achieving some pretty nasty sounds on their respective instruments.
The third ‘interlude’, Going Quietly, is followed by closer, and album highlight, the eighteen-plus-minute Elusive And Unstable Nature Of Truth finds Falling Floors descending into all sorts of kraut/psych madness, complete with some excellent time-keeping by Greenwood, and held together by Wheeler’s almost-jazz-like walking bass line. As well, Wheeler lets loose with some organ on top of the cacophony, really adding to the ‘70s kraut rock vibe. Not to be outdone, Herian unleashes some pretty otherworldly guitar sounds, heavy, spacey, trippy, and frankly, slightly fucked up. All three musicians get their time to shine individually on Elusive And Unstable Nature Of Truth, but when the trio lock in together the results are pretty astonishing.
Whilst Falling Floors, unlike Bentrees last year, won’t have me necessarily re-thinking my top albums list, Falling Floors is a stellar and accomplished debut album, featuring many jaw-dropping individual performances from the trio, to say nothing of when they are simultaneously locked in a groove. I could’ve done without the ‘interludes’, certainly three of them, however that didn’t diminish my listening experience. Recommended for fans of psych rock, kraut rock, and trippy instrumentals that is worth the price of admission for Infinite Switch alone.
Label: Riot Season | Echodelick Records
Band Links: Bandcamp | Instagram
Scribed by: Martin Williams
