Fall City Shakedown

Rating: 8/10 Stars
Key Track: To Weep at the Dying
of a Thing Never Born

Fall City Shakedown has taken the road-less-traveled to local Seattle scene glory. Bands like On the Last Day, From Aphony, and Tysen have made strong names for themselves with their hard-edged style of rock, full of energy, emotion, and screams.

However, that is definitely not FCS’s style, as evident in their EP “Birds + Leaves”. Fall City Shakedown combines an upbeat alternative rock feel (catchy guitar riffs and a higher bass octave) with emotional lyrics to produce a sound that one would guess was the lovechild of the Stereophonics and Saves the Day. And they do so with much success.

The opening track, “Hearts the Size of Balls”, is a very interesting one. Guitarists Scott Shipp and Lucas Cervi, manage to keep my interest with minimal usage of their distortion; and if you saw what was on my iPod you would understand how major an accomplishment that is. In fact, the catchiest part of the track is the chorus, in which the guys pair their lyrics of lost love and disappointment (“These could be the last words that we speak”) with a soft chord progression played without any distortion or bass.

The second track, “Ransomed”, is a bit louder, with an old school Taking Back Sunday kind of feel. The lyrics remain just as deep, though. This time, they tell the story of a love that woulda been-coulda been-shoulda been, singing, “What if we could find a way out of it with one cry recapture our lives, and break the glass that separates us in hand…”

“To Weep at the Dying of a Thing Never Born”, definitely catches Fall City Shakedown at their best. Out of all the lyric depth that of this release, “To Weep” is the deepest. “I was still under the blankets when you drove away with plans to see me soon. I was laying perfectly still, but still running away from you” they sing. The sound is definitely at its best, as well. The boys alternate individual chord picking with solid progressions, and for the listeners’ pleasure, throw in a solid guitar solo with a few harder drum hits.

“May the Future Forgive Us”, is a very good song to go out with. It incorporates a lot of the same elements that make “To Weep” so good.

I must be honest; I never thought I would hold this cd in such high regards. I definitely like all varieties of rock, but for some reason (nothing personal), I have never really been a fan of the mellow alternative sound (like Radio 4 or Presidents of the USA). But somehow, Fall City Shakedown’s, EP “Birds + Leaves”, has made me like it. - Rain City Ambience