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.

Fallon Cush, Bee in Your Bonnet, 2016

Album Review

By Henry Lipput

There’s a song about halfway through the new Fallon Cush album that’s so beautiful (and sad) that even on first listen you wonder why it’s not already a standard (it‘s certainly played like one). The song, “For Too Long,” seems to be about a relationship that’s ended or about to end: “Too long I’ve been crushed by your good-byes / For so long now I’ve been trying to find life in dead eyes.“ It’s one of the many highlights from this band’s latest release.

Bee In Your Bonnet is the third album by Australia’s Fallon Cush and the first in four years. The band is led by singer and songwriter Steve Smith who’s based in Sydney and has been part of that city’s music scene for 30 years. Earlier albums by Fallon Cush were compared to the sound of Crowded House, and it’s difficult to come from that part of the world and not be influenced by Neil Finn and company.

But the band’s current lineup of Smith on vocals and guitar, Glen Hannahon on guitars, Scott Aplin on keyboards, Josh Schuberth on bass and drums, and backing vocalists Suzy Goodwin and Stephanie Grace have a sound that‘s all their own. To get a glimpse of the marvelous sound they’re now making, check out the YouTube video for the album’s title song as the band visits Sydney’s Love Hz studio for an acoustic session.



In addition to “For Too Long,” other album highlights include the single “Useless Friend” about another relationship that’s on the rocks. “Would it take a photograph / jog a memory or two?” the singer asks a former close mate. And he knows the end is near: “I’m too far gone / I’m a hopeless case / I cramp your style / invade your space / I hang around / like a useless friend.” There’s also some great bass playing going on.

After a quiet start, the album’s opener “There’s A Dark Side To That Moon” kicks it in. “Kings Ransom” also rocks and includes a very late-period Beatles George Harrison-style guitar throughout the number. There’s also some swell guitar and organ coupling happening in “Less You’re Near” and the terrific “Dorothy." (Shades of mid ‘60s Dylan -- there’s a Dylan-with-an-Aussie-accent in Smith’s singing.)

“The Haunting” is lovely. “The Honeycomb” has the makings of a heavenly pop hit, and the wonderful “Biggest Show” ends the album with another ending: “When the flame went out / I wasn’t there / When she burnt out like a flare / It was meant to be you’d swear.” And then there’s a brief, brilliant guitar solo that brings to mind the end of Abbey Road or XTC’s Nonesuch.

Despite the songs that describe the ending of relationships, Fallon Cush’s Bee In Your Bonnet is very much a new beginning for this stellar band.

Bee In Your Bonnet is available now on Lightly Toasted Records.