The Falls
The story of Sydney duo The Falls reads a bit like this: boy meets girl, boy and girl fall in love, write songs, fight, make up, break up but still stay together as a band. Given most exes don’t even want to see each other, let alone tour together, it’s an unusual situation but it’s one that’s spun gold for Simon and Melinda so far.
Rather than hiding their emotions, the pair channelled them into their debut EP Hollywood in late 2011 with producer Tony Buchen (Andy Bull, Washington). Named after the Hollywood Hotel where they met and played weekly gigs together, the EP’s full of tender acoustic folk built on lush harmonies, handclaps and a mood that manages to be both pensive and playful.
“Sure feel like escaping/So I hit the road,” Simon sings on ‘Home’, a sentiment they’re taking literally for the rest of 2011 as the ex-lovers/new best friends endeavour to take their sweet sounds further afield. Who knows what will happen in the tour van, right?