Kellin Falconer - Tragedy

Rocksound review by Dave Sanders
Prolific singer songwriter precedes his band's debut album with a second solo single


Kellin is preparing for an album cycle with Juneau by sending out his second solo single

Given that his band are little more than a few weeks from the release of their highly anticipated debut album Everywhere We've Ever Been, it was more than a little surprising for me to find another single from Juneau guitarist Kellin Falconer land on my desk this week. Merely a month or so since the 25-year old brought us to our knees with the eternally sad Face Again, Kellin is back again with a second effort that ramps up....well everything. Better production? Check (Thank Studio60 for that one). Better songwriting? Check. And crucially, even more sadness? Extra check. It seems that the hardest working man in pop punk - a genre not exactly known for its depth of emotion or its willingness to step away from the tried and tested cheery themes, has found himself a very nice little niche here in soft acoustic emo-pop, with this song building on the emotional rollercoaster of his debut, and introducing us to an all-new world of tragedy.

If Kellin's debut served as a way for him to distance his own music from that he works on 'through the week' figuratively speaking, this second offering from the tattooed young man brings him into an area all of his own where it's easy to forget he even has a band. The songwriting and lyrical storytelling was a strong point of his debut, and here it is once again, with a poignant tale being brought to life by the words sung by Kellin. The song's theme and plot, if a song can ever have a plot then this is it, lend themselves to Shakespearean folklore, and while that carries with it a real risk of sounding cheesy and overblown in the emotional stakes, Kellin manages to banish this fear and executes his story of lost love and tragedy with excellent precision. Quite simply, you will struggle to hear a tale of loss and desire for change that comes too late that matches this anywhere in music this year. Whether the song happens to have a fictional or figurative narrative is unclear, but also quite irrelevant when it's just this emotive. We get taken on a journey of disaster and loss, and the best part is he does it with the desired subtlety. The desire to cram in a million references to hearts and broken promises has been rejected, while he only gives us just enough to allow us to make our own minds up about the story. It really is a lesson for all pop artists in the class of "less is more".

While the lyrics are wonderfully executed, though, once again, the highlight of this track is the fantastically worked musical accompaniment. Kellin's use of just one guitar, simple drums and the utilising of his own voice as an instrument stand him alongside the likes of Katie Coyle and Evangeline in a genre of wonderfully stripped back pop music that just gives you enough to make a story into a song. This sounds even more subtle than his last single, but somehow infinitely more powerful. There is little in the way of change, musically, throughout the track, and that is fine, because it's more than enough to make it a great acoustic pop track that should live long in the memory. Revel in the story you're hearing, enjoy the gentle guitar tones and just lay back and bask in something that sounds so refreshing you'll swear you've been waiting for it all your life.

When he released his debut single, it was predicted that solo work would be little more than a side project for a guy like Kellin, preoccupied with his band and the impending takeover of the mainstream pop-punk world. But fast forward a month and he has already signed on the dotted line with Studio60 Records for his major label debut, played a string of solo shows across the west coast of the USA and been seen mingling with the rich and famous without his band by his side. And with a killer second single like this under his belt, it seems like the youngster would be well served by focusing his attention on what is essentially his part-time job. I for one sense the beginnings of a long and illustrious career for the musical maestro that is Kellin Falconer.

Rating: 4/5 For fans of: Motion City Soundtrack, Modern Baseball, Funeral For a Friend, Finch

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Kellin says: I want to go back to what I said the first time out and say that this song was just a result of me being bored one day, again, but honestly, working on this song was so infinitely different to what I've done before that it was quite a shock to me. Obviously, I've signed with Studio60 now, and that made for a much more intensive process. Like, in the past I would write a song, ask Dallas to record it for me when he could be assed, and then chuck it up on Soundcloud whenever it was ready. With this one, I called up and spoke to the label, saying I had a single to release, and it was like a whirlwind. Within like 20 minutes I had a schedule and stuff for recording release, and it felt so much more official and tighter, which definitely made me work a hell of a lot harder. Recording was fun as well. I got to work with Gia Rose-Hilton, a beautiful and mega talented lady who just knew everything I could ever want a producer to know. Every time we spoke about the song, she was like "oh you mean like this....? Zhhhhooooo" and it was right every time. It was an amazing experience, and it definitely made for a final product that sounds so tight and exciting. I love it.

Musically, I....well I guess there's not a lot to say. I've done a lot of experimenting musically when I work on my own, obviously because I don't get a chance to do that with Juneau, but I think I've found the sort of area I want to be in now. I like the sort of naked uncertainty and fragility that comes with just an acoustic and a voice. It lends itself well to music that's about hopelessness, sadness and loss, which is definitely a corner that I've painted myself intentionally into. This is different to the first one though. I think this song has a real sense of hopeless sadness, as opposed to the longing that was more in Face Again, if that actually makes any sense at all.

I know the question I'm gonna be asked most, though, so I'm just gonna step up and say now that, no, it is sadly not a true story. This is my own sort of attempt at fiction. I love the romantic tragedies that Shakespeare wrote all those years ago, and while I'm not comparing myself to him in any way, I wanted to do something fictional that borrowed from that theme. So yeah, this is my subtle attempt at romantic tragedy and working towards something that really has no happy ending. There's no light at the end of the tunnel, no silver lining, just death and loss. I like that idea of what sadness is, as opposed to the normal heartbreak and betrayal songs that you see around. This is, for me, about two people deeply in love, who wind up dead. And yeah, it's not exactly in your face with a plot, but I like to think that listeners can draw their own story from the song and imagine the two characters. In your version, they might not die, maybe they just split up. It's all about imagining and stuff. I hope so, anyway.

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Artist: Kellin Falconer
Title: Tragedy
Genre: Acoustic/emo-pop/post-hardcore
Recorded: Los Angeles, CA
Written: Kellin Falconer
Produced: Gia Rose-Hilton
Album: TBC
Label: Studio60

We used to be so comfortable
Sitting with our backs against the wall
But now it feels too painful to remember
How we were when nothing hurt at all
But here and now it feels too sore to be
More than friends
And with one hurt look
I can sense
That you've heard enough of these tired excuses

This could be our tragedy
This won't be the final chapter
Of a story too dark to ever end
This could be our tragedy
Just another heart break after
Words that make it too hard to pretend

So start another page that
That will open both of us to pain
But I can't take all this again
I'll close my eyes and wish it all away
And save my life but I can't save the day
Or people from themselves
No one dies
But no one tries
To save it for themselves

This could be our tragedy
This won't be the final chapter
Of a story too dark to ever end
This could be our tragedy
Just another heart break after
Words that make it too hard to pretend

And now the engines run
But we go nowhere fast
I'll tell myself that this is fun
A sentiment I know can never last
Cos we're alone in the dark
Walking hand in hand in all but soul
But the difference is too stark
Pretence is better than to take a role
One I've never known
One where I must walk alone

This could be our tragedy
This won't be the final chapter
Of a story too dark to ever end
This could be our tragedy
Just another heart break after
Words that make it too hard to pretend

One time I swore we'd run from here
Promised a world of magic
We dreamed of something that we'd fear
Not of lines that felt so tragic
We got our story told
We had our faces known
The tales we'd own
But now we can't grow old

We'll never tire of life
And learn the ways of the world
Robbed of the chance by a knife
And thrown straight to the wolves
The radio plays our song
But there's no ears around to hear
The TV shows our favourite sad story
But we're gone too far to even shed a tear

This could be our tragedy
This won't be the final chapter
Of a story too dark to ever end
This could be our tragedy
Just another heart break after
Words that make it too hard to pretend

Sitting with our backs against the wall
Staring into a future we'll never know
Pondering the meaning to it all
Dreaming of places we'd never go
Feeling this magic
Our story tragic
This could be our final chapter
A story too dark for all but tragedy

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