Fallon Cush, Morning, 2017

Album Review

By Henry Lipput

Fallon Cush are on a roll.

Last year, when this Australian band released Bee In Your Bonnet (number 2 on my list of year-end favorites), it had been four years since their previous album April had come out.

But, earlier this year, Steve Smith and company put out the terrific single "Long Shot," which we shared here at CoolDad Music, as a teaser for what was to be an upcoming album in the fall (but it showed up a bit earlier than that on Bandcamp). And now we have Morning, a brand-new album containing the single and eight other new Fallon Cush gems.

In addition to the new album, Fallon Cush have something of a new, expanded sound. When touring behind Bee In Your Bonnet, the band that had recorded that album -- Smith on vocals and guitar, Glen Hannah on guitars, Scott Aplin on keyboards, Josh Schuberth on bass and drums, and backing vocalists Suzy Goodwin and Stephanie Grace -- were joined on tour and on the recording of Morning by Casey Atkins on guitar and backing vocals, Tim Byron on keyboards, Peter Marley on bass, and Michael Carpenter also on bass and backing vocals.

I started listening to Fallon Cush just before Bee In Your Bonnet came out, and Morning has all of the elements that I like so much about the band. First, there's the songwriting of Steve Smith. Morning shows his range and contains both rockers ("Long Shot") and ballads ("My Achilles Heel"). Then, there's his singing, a bit like Dylan but with a warmth and a sense of taking the listener into his confidence ("In Your Backyard").

Suzy Goodwin brings background vocals and harmonies that add color to the mix, and she continues to be the band's secret weapon ("Long Shot" and "In Your Backyard" among others). And the expanded band's musical palette includes some of the best musicians from Sydney's alt-country and indie-rock scenes like Casey Atkins, who plays lead guitar on the title track, on "Long Shot," and, especially, “The Last Thing” (and Bee In Your Bonnet vet Glen Hannah brings some fine fretwork to tracks like "Open Mind").

Morning is out now on Lightly Toasted Records.