Skillfully balancing crisp and expressive guitars alongside of distant, dreamlike vocals, creating a sense of calm amidst one of a more manic and relentless outpouring of ideas, Temperature Falls emerges as a project focused on writing, depth of thought, and artistic ambiance building.
Beginning with a striking use of echoed lyrics and a sense of lo-fi, shoe-gaze inspired soft rock, Darkness All Around starts up the album with a certain vastness. As things progress, you slowly but surely settle into the space; connecting a little more with the style and sentiment as each new song appears.
Guilty/Stable introduces a more experimental side to the album, musically speaking – the structure and the multiple layers lean back and forth between organic and electronic musicality; a trait that reappears just subtly throughout the project. Elsewhere seductive bass-lines creep into the room with quiet swagger – Watch Me Burn a fine example, slowly evolving into a progressive rock soundscape with a somewhat pop-punk-like melody. Moments like this also lay bare the lyrics a little more clearly, showcasing a certain emotional vulnerability and honesty that’s easy to connect with.
A touch of weight strikes with Paper Princess, navigating through rockier waters yet still holding onto that melodic lightness. Songwriting-wise this one fascinates, being all at once poetic and deeply thoughtful on human nature and the self. There’s definitely a certain sound to the Temperature Falls vocal arrangement – regardless of the style underneath – the back and forth between voices, the blended nature of them and the lack of instrumental space; all of this helps give off a sense of identity.
During the latter half, Into The Fray veers right off into indie rock, anthem-like territory. A touch of vocal depth and rasp emerges that’s really well-received at this point, and helps create an effective contrast with the later sections. A notable highlight from the whole album. 1000 Teardrops follows and leads you through an unsettling, cinematic ambiance, juxtaposed intermittently by a certain soft and melodic calm.
No Ordinary Girl works hard to inspire at the penultimate moment – hopeful and uplifting ideas rain down around you, meanwhile the music flows through in a similarly expressive and comfortable manner; the very concept of being happy the way you are is magnified by the entire musical performance.
Things come to a surprisingly mellow and gentle finish. Those lower vocals return, weaving in and out of the mix in an entrancing manner. Another easy highlight, contrast is utilized brilliantly as Clinch drops into its hook. Anthemic qualities stand tall yet again, as do those consistently thoughtful lyrics that make up a huge part of the Temperature Falls creative design. A strong way to go out.
This album is something like progressive shoe-gaze, less soaked in reverb, with a little more clarity, and really just a creatively free and fairly unique angle to it. Worth a listen if considerate and intentional songwriting draws you in – as well as delicately hard-hitting rock backdrops.
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