LouFest 2014: Falls
“St. Louis reminds me of my grandmother. Growing up in Australia, I watched old movies with her every weekend. We would always sing ‘Meet me in St Louis, Louis’ together, so I hear it in my head every time I visit. It also means that, at first, I pronounced it all wrong.” - Melinda Kirwin
Someone once told Australian indie duo Falls that its music is like “two voices that sit next to each other like they’ve been pouring from the same pot of tea for years.”
This romantic reflection of the Simon & Garfunkel-esque folk singer-songwriters fits them idyllically, as romance was the notion that birthed the band.
But now, through a connection that is more creatively inclined, Melinda Kirwin and Simon Rudston-Brown are just bandmates, with the romanticism contained only to their deeply felt musical expression. Through the art of coming together, breaking up and reconciling artistically, these two have felt a range of emotion collaboratively. “What you get from us is always very raw, very honest and very emotionally charged,” Kirwin says.
The love that they wish for, however, is to be felt by the audience. “I guess I always hope that people leave our shows feeling better than when they arrived,” Kirwin says. “I want them to be filled with the love, hope and the optimism that is always behind even the darkest songs. I sound like such a hippie, but I mean it … love is all you need.”
The vibrant concept of love has illustrated Falls’ music since its genesis, and this theme has carried fans through heart ache and heart break. Kirwin could also envision it as an excellent pairing with eating French cheese. In the end, Kirwin says she hopes Falls’ music is important to people for the same reason that any music is—because it adds something to the lives of the people listening to it.
Inspiring this passion, in part, is the record collection Kirwin is currently longing for from her Australian home. That collection includes the “dusty sounds” of Father John Misty, Ray Charles, Roy Orbison and the Rolling Stones.
Although the folk indie music scene is plentiful in strong songwriters and artists, such as Falls’ past tourmates The Lumineers and Of Monsters and Men, Kirwin says what puts them apart is the personal stories they tell that no one else will have.
“Right now we are inspired by life and love,” she says. “The places we visit and the places we dream of. The people me meet and those we’ve left behind.”
The wistful, almost intrinsic ardor bursting from Falls’ acoustic reverence isn’t just for show, and the romanticism isn’t mere pageantry.
It’s just who they are.
