"I want to join The Fall" is the new single from Flywheel.

I want to join The Fall!

Or do I? The Fall had a lot of members. Why? Well, we all know Mark E. Smith was... difficult. Great band, but was it funnier to witness him go off on one on Newsnight than experience his wrath up close? But, anyway, statistically speaking, you probably know someone who was in The Fall. Or maybe you were in The Fall yourself. I was neither.

Musings by the by, what is very much not by the by is how fantastic this single from Flywheel is.

The band is from Cork, Ireland. They initially formed in the early 1990s, releasing their debut album She in 1996 (later dubbed a "true lost classic" by the Irish Examiner). Though they broke up shortly after, they reunited in September 2020. "I Want to Join The Fall" marks the third release in a planned sequence of five songs for their upcoming EP.

The band draws on post-punk, shoegaze, and Krautrock, originally influenced by the likes of Cocteau Twins, while sharing modern ground with acts like Gurriers. Flywheel seamlessly fuses all of these influences into a perfect 3 minutes and 23 seconds.

Sound-wise, my primary reference point lands in the 2000s. I’m not sure if my weekend Electrelane binge was inspired by this track or if I just naturally love this style, but Electrelane is definitely the comparison place for me. It’s all about how the instruments enter sequentially to build up a sumptuous wall of noise.

It feels like you’re a Krautrock medieval knight getting yourself ready for a shoegaze war. On this track we have Ann Marie Ryan (vocals), Mark Tangney (guitar and keyboards) and Kieran Curtin (guitars). They armour you with all the necessary equipment in order: drums, guitar, bass, ethereal vocal synths, each layered over the last until everything culminated in a triumphant, finish. You’re left thinking: What a fantastic combination of sounds that was. I’m ready for battle!

Conceptually and lyrically, it’s just as interesting. Itself is influenced by The Fall’s "I Am Damo Suzuki", and despite my early cliché joke, I actually do know a couple of people who shared a stage with Damo, so maybe being in The Fall isn't so far-fetched after all! The song lands as part tribute, part biography. It explores a decades-long obsession with the band while confronting the internal contradiction of loving the music while acknowledging the flaws of the person who made it, a common theme across artists I pick for 1000 Songs that I have so far ducked!

I’m pretty poor at making out lyrics, but I can definitely hear a bit of ethereal effin' and jeffin' that works brilliantly in context. There’s definitely a love, hate dynamic behind the whole thing. I am definitely in favour of a bit of dream pop anger!

Love this track. Hope you check them out.