Falcon Jane Draws Us into Her Universe on 'Faith'

BY Sydney BrasilPublished Nov 11, 2020

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It's invigorating to see Falcon Jane continue on an upward trajectory. After cementing her self-described plez-rock on 2018's Feelin' Freaky, Faith not only retains that same charm, but brings in more depth. Written after a series of deaths in her family, project leader Sarah May's emotional honesty adds to the distinctiveness to her voice as a whole. These are songs undoubtedly written as a means to work out her own feelings, and they contain so much warmth that her optimistic storytelling perseveres.

May's words run as deep as the atmospheric surroundings of her instruments, as these are songs that create environments from front to back. "Feelings" has the aura of a semi-formal dance scene in a high school teen drama, while "The Other Moon" appropriately sounds like it's being played into the ether. Both of these songs also showcase what the rest of Faith sets out to do: the twang of the guitars is a product of country influence, filled with much of that classic compressed tone. However, there's a little bit of chorus sprinkled in here and there that meshes with the airiness of everything else. Overall, these are extremely confident guitar lines that know their place perfectly.

Though the guitars are what give the record its edge, there's something ethereal about the juxtaposition of these tones against the dreamy, heavy synths. It's these synths that throw you deeply into Falcon Jane's universe right from the start of the album on "All of a Sudden." It's near impossible to not get sucked in right away, since Faith draws you in so welcomingly. May's faith in her feelings is responsible for much of the album's greatness, making it better the more you listen to it.
(Darling)

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