Michael Olliffe - On The Street 737, 28/02/95
After a year that may have seen lesser bands pawn their instruments, Falling Joys have regrouped to deliver one of their strongest releases in "Universal Mind". The four track EP provides a mild departure from the relaxed ambience of the triumphant Aerial. The driving lead track takes a subtler Helmetesque grind, marrying it with their characteristic melodic finesse.
The new EP strongly suggests the disappointments and second-guessing of 1994 are well behind the Falling Joys. The introduction of new drummer Jason Morrisby has run smoothly, better than anticipated, and that has fuelled the other members with a renewed...
"Since Jason's been in the band", notes bass player Pat Hayes, "which has been getting on a year now, his drumming is heavier, and you play to that - he whacks it." [laughs]
The obvious strength in the new songs, it seems, can be directly attributed to his influence. "We've always played a song for a song, like [I'll Just Have To Find Another] Giant' is very laidback."
The track was serene enough to make Hayes reticent about even contributing, an indication of Suzie Higgie's continual out-pouring of quality material. "It was so laidback I wasn't even game to play bass on it. I was just going 'I couldn't play anything without sounding like I was coming in like a big stumbo', so I did a few minor things and got Paul [McKercher] to play cello."
Such experimentation within their own sound was a unique feature of Aerial, adding an extra dynamism to the group's already considerable talents. "It was great", says Hayes, "Paul was going, "How do I play "Giant"?'. Like [imitates the sound of a unconventional handled cello], really dissonant."
The raw and tougher sounding nature of "Universal Mind" appears unsurprising for Suzie Higgie, prepared to let her songwriting move on naturally. "I suppose it's just always what suits the mood at the time", she offers, "and I was ready to do some heavy rockin'. I don't know exactly what it's a result of, but I suppose I've always wanted things to be a bit heavier than how they've come across.
"I think I've just got to push for that a bit more. We've pleased with it, and they're really good fun to play live. So often you write a song, and you go and record it, and shock horror you have to play it live and it's hard to sing, or it's too tricky, but these songs seem to work in both areas."
Using Paul McKercher once again, the Joys have achieved a depth in clarity in production that give the songs room to breathe. Higgie is certainly effusive in her praise of his talent. "I think Paul is getting to know us as well; Aerial is the first project that he had done with us, and we came out of that all being good friends, and he obviously had more of an idea of what we liked. I think it was pretty much a blend of that, and Paul has been working with the Cruel Sea as well, and getting more experienced with sounds. He is certainly fantastic to work with."
"Universal Mind" is more of less a statement of intent. A check point for where the group currently reside, and hinging positively at riches to come. The release marks a new phase for the group, reminding us just how important and remarkable they are. "While we were in the studio, it was a bit of a rollercoaster ride. More of a steamroller actually", says Hayes.
"We haven't recorded for a year and a half now, and that's a fucking long time not to record. And basically we just want to say 'We're still here, we're still doing it', and hopefully this will tie us over until we get an album out, which ultimately will be September."
And the East beckons too. Representing a reversal of fortune from last year, with their attempts to capitalise on their Stateside jaunt on the back of Wish List being scuttled. "At the moment, we're looking at a Japanese tour". informs Hayes. "We're just being released over there, all our back catalogue, which is a fantastic thing. So if we can get over their within the next two months, which is what we're looking at, we'll do that , come back, and get stuck into an album. It's a huge market, but I have no idea what's happening over there.
"Hopefully there will be a whole stack of Australian bands being release over there soon", he continues, "through a label called Mutiny. They came out a while ago, and checked out a stack of bands with the intention of releasing them one after another. It'll be great if it happens; I mean you never know until it happens."
As Hayes begins to reveal the way their plans tragically unravelled, one intuits that it was a greater blow than they are prepared to admit. Having avenues unceremoniously blocked and trashed is certainly one way of killing off fine bands. The residual effects of these incidents meant the Joys were thrust into a bout of touring, on the back of the nearly year-old Aerial, buoyed at the time by the astoundingly ethereal remix of "Amen".
Hayes explains. "Last year we were meant to go to the States but the label that we were dealing with over there [Nettwerk] did a runner before we left. We were actually down in Melbourne touring, playing with this band called the Affected, who are prettty funny. We were sitting upstairs afterwards, and they were telling us this funny story about this Melbourne band who were stuck overseas because the label did a runner. This band were over their touring around, and the label just scattered, and left them stranded pretty much. And we were thinking, 'What an awful story, who's the label?', and when he told us it was like [assumes the aspect of absolute disbelief].
"So that's how we found out. Then we got on the phone to Volition [Falling Joy's local label] and said, 'What the fuck's going on? We've just heard that everyone's headed for the hills', and they went 'Yep'. It could have been worse, we could have been there when they decided to do that, but you're just never sure until you're there. That was dead certain, everything was lined up, and it had been planned for six months...", at which point he trails off. "It was like, 'Okay, back up plan,' and we had one. Which was just basically tour, tour, tour, which we have done."
Higgie was equally as bemused by the events, but indicates that once the disappointments were weighed up, the only thing left to do was abandon the impending inertia. "Last year was such a strange year for all of us", says Higgie, "I think we were sick of the whinging so we had to just change everything around and now, after all that, we're finally back on top I think."
"It was sort of a combination of things; overseas stuff just had this domino effect, where Nettwerk in Canada, and IRS in the States, their relationship fell apart. We're with Nettwerk, so without IRS they couldn't put us out on their own, so they couln't put us out at all. But it's looking better now, we've got people working over there and we're getting new deals."
Jason Morrisby's introduction into the band has not only bolstered their sound, but infused the group with fresh energy. Both Hayes and Higgie are keen to extol the numerous virtues of their drummer, who has slotted in perfectly. "From day one", says Hayes confidently. "It's pretty amazing considering that we didn't know him at all, he had just come up from Melbourne, and he had only been in town for three days when we met him.
"But he has been really fantastic", she beams. "He is so constructive, his input into the band is huge. As soon as he got in there, it was like 'Okay, these are the facts, this is what's been happening with the band, this is where we are, this is what each of us are doing for the band, what do you reckon?'. And we just thought, fantastic."
Morrisby, being the switched on chap he is, appears to have saved the Joys. A vision that Higgie concurs wholeheartedly with. "Having Jason on board, it's incredibly. He had just really inspired us too, he has re-injected some energy, particularly when we're doing the old songs."
The worst is behind them, and with a guaranteed resurgence of the Sydney scenes fortunes (thanks largely to acts such as You Am I, Big Heavy Stuff, Crow, Glide, Drop City, SPDFGH all breathing life into the community), the joys are assured of longevity. Another life enhancing factor is their ability to allow providence to weave her magic, and arrive back in our ears fresh, vibrant and powerful.
Reproduced without permission