Welcome to the official Faces Fall website
– a home for our musical output across the years
Read below and visit the menu opposite to hear a selection of the output of Faces Fall and our various incarnations – Shortlist, Blindspot and Fiction – through the years
Jan 21, COVID Creativity and Covers
It’s been a while since the last update but COVID hasn’t stopped the creative wheels turning (there’s not much else to do!) Two albums’s worth of new material and a further foray into party covers as we got ready for a few celebrations that were stopped dead in their tracks.
The original material has been the focus of late. Volume 1 started life at the very end of 2019 and took a very different turn from March until July, when we were lucky enough to start rehearsing again at one of our favourite practice studios – Sanctuary Studios in Watford. Pleased to see they are still battling on during the second lockdown. We had to stop rehearsing in November, returning to writing and recording at home to brush up the tracks for volume 2.
We’ve had some fantastic collaborations across the new tracks. The excellent Nadine Wild-Palmer duets with Steve on Lockdown Punchbag, with brass added by Gareth P Jones, who also appears on ‘Don’t Want to Return’.
A few taster tracks to enjoy….
There’s also been some time to finally mix tracks written in 2018/19, collectively know as the “One Life” album, that provided material for the Wychwood set. No Turning Back is a favourite.
Head to our soundcloud albums page to hear more of the recent material and a few of the “would have been our greatest hits” (or use the menu opposite to go further back in time!)
Finally, the covers work has been great fun – a real joy to work on a range of mainly 80s classics (think Blondie, ABC, Kylie, Spandau) with vocalist Helen Sweeney. We will return to this when normal life returns and those parties are re-arranged! Here’s a little preview of where the live sound was going…
… and a couple from the studio…
Aug 2019, Sawmill Sessions
Oasis, Stone Roses, The Verve, Cast, Supergrass… these bands have sold one or two records more than us, but now we have all recorded in the same place – the brilliantly vibey Sawmills Studio near Fowey in Cornwall. Tony, Paul and Steve went down and thought it might be fun to go with the 90s feel and record a couple of the songs we were playing as Shortlist over 20 years ago. So, with the tireless Tom Joyce overseeing proceedings, we recorded Magnificent Distraction and Swings and Roundabouts in a 14-hour session using some amazing vintage gear. So far we have only the monitor mixes but finished versions will be posted in September.
Update: The final mixes:
Around this time, the Young Bond track ‘Shoot to Kill‘ was posted on Youtube. Written and performed by Steve and Jason Loborik (a long time friend and collaborator of Faces Fall) to publicise Steve’s book release, it featured lead vocals by Karen Casey, strings by Joni Fuller and guitars by Paul.
June 2019, Faces Fall Play Wychwood
We’ve just returned from a fantastic weekend at the Wychwood Festival in Cheltenham. A great family festival with some amazing live acts throughout – we danced late into Saturday evening to a timeless ABC set!
We had the great privilege of opening proceedings in the Hobgoblin tent at lunchtime on Sunday and with a perfectly timed deluge of rain we had a fantastic audience for the show!
We’ll share some of the live recordings very soon – but in the meantime enjoy some of the photos. Thanks again to the Wychwood team for letting us play and for running such a friendly festival!
March 2019, New EP Released…
Our new EP, ‘Nothing Rings True’ has been released on all major streaming and download platforms – Amazon, iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, etc.
Recorded and mixed at Black Frog Studios in Thame, Oxfordshire, ‘Nothing Rings Trues’ features 3 tracks – ‘Feel So Far Away’, ‘Too Young’ and ‘Light The Blue’. Listen below for a preview and head to your favoured music platform for a proper listen!
Nothing Rings True Sampler:
October 2018, Faces Fall Play Live…
Faces Fall returned to the stage in October 2018 after 7 years away, to join the birthday celebrations of one our greatest supporters. Despite a bout of flu significantly reducing Steve’s vocal powers, the band treated the revellers to a selection of new tracks, old favourites and party covers.
The buzz of returning to the stage has the got the band itching to play more, so watch this site for news on the next gig….
No official live recording was made on the night (though we’ve seen some bootleg videos!) so we’ve added a couple of live bootlegs from recent rehearsals to give you the feel for what went down that very night…
April 2018 – Live Rehearsal, “Him with Her”…
