The Way the Night Falls by flyingfish

Review written by Savanah Reed

I started listening to a new artist, flyingfish’s album the way night falls. The first song is a short instrumental piece that includes just the strumming of a guitar and a melody that repeats at about 100 bpm. You can quietly hear the vocalist bicker to himself at points in the song as he continues the melody. The song ends pretty quickly as it’s only 0:41 seconds long, but it’s a good introduction for the beginning of the second track. The second song reminds me of a 2000s emo rock instrumental, kinda like the Foo Fighters song “Everlong.” The instrumental is a bit repetitive and I wish there was a bit more variation like lyrics or other instruments. It begins with electric sounding guitar strums that echo for a few seconds, then for a brief second the guitar cuts out and becomes louder while also adding in the drums. The keyboard in the background has many effects on it making the song in my opinion sound almost ghost-like.

The third song is very similar to the second song, having about the same bpm. However there is a different melody. This time the song has lyrics, although very few, and I like it. It starts off with low and soft guitar strums with bird song in the background. After this the drums come in and the guitar suddenly gets much louder. Again, very reminiscent of early 2000s emo rock. The only lyrics that are included in the song are five short sentences that repeat once. The singer talks about now wanting to leave the warmth of someone in what is described as a cold autumn day: “The wind bites at my uncovered neck… In front of this warm-leaved path.” The song continues on the same rhythms for a while until the drums stop and the guitar solos for a few seconds with birdsong echoing behind it, before we hear four drum stick clicks and then the drums come back in. The lyrics repeat once more and the song ends on a long riff and cymbal crash. I do however wish that the voice singing is a bit quieter or the music a bit quieter.

The third song is very similar to the second song, having about the same bpm. However there is a different melody. This time the song has lyrics, although very few, and I like it. It starts off with low and soft guitar strums with bird song in the background. After this the drums come in and the guitar suddenly gets much louder. Again, very reminiscent of early 2000s emo rock. The only lyrics that are included in the song are five short sentences that repeat once. The singer talks about now wanting to leave the warmth of someone in what is described as a cold autumn day: “The wind bites at my uncovered neck… In front of this warm-leaved path.” The song continues on the same rhythms for a while until the drums stop and the guitar solos for a few seconds with birdsong echoing behind it, before we hear four drum stick clicks and then the drums come back in. The lyrics repeat once more and the song ends on a long riff and cymbal crash. I do however wish that the voice singing is a bit quieter or the music a bit quieter.

The fourth song is also very similar, though with a different melody. I really like the vocals harmonizing with the music, which sound almost ethereal. I love when the music briefly stops at 1:50 and then comes back in not a second later. The key that this song is in is also very nice; it starts at a higher bpm and then slows down to about 100bpm. The final and fifth song on the album is also quite similar to the others. The song begins with a very fast tempo at about 220-230 bpm. This one also includes a few lyrics as well. I still wish that the music was a bit quieter so I could hear the vocals better, but maybe that is just a personal preference.

All of the songs include very strong guitar and drums, and the keyboard, which ends up getting a lot of effects over it but I think it makes it sound nostalgic and comforting. Since all of these songs when I first gave them a listen were very similar in my mind, they all ended up making me feel a similar emotion. It makes me feel like I’m in a depression in my room, just taking everything in while staring up at my ceiling (the rhythms that are played by the guitar in most of the songs also end up doing the trick too.) There is a strange complexity to this music. It finds a way to make me feel lonely even when I’m in a room full of friends. This of course is a good thing; I’m glad that music is able to make me feel the way that I do. I’m not very sure if this is what the artist was looking for when making their short album, but their music was able to hit my emotions hard, and I like that about music.