Album Review: After The Fall - Bittersweet

16 January 2013 | 6:32 pm | Daniel Cribb

"Their rawest and most organic album yet."

More After The Fall More After The Fall

Central Coast outfit After The Fall had a pretty sweet ride, with their first two releases being on major label Festival Mushroom Records in '04 and '05, but then they thought it would be a good idea to go independent, and by the time their third album, [In] Exile, surfaced in '09, they had lost most of the momentum gained from extensive touring, festival spots and a wealth of airplay, and pretty much fell off the face of the planet. Most people who discovered they were releasing a fourth album were surprised that they were still kicking around. What's more surprising is this album isn't too bad.

Home recordings seem to be all the rage these days, and recorded mostly in houses that guitarist Mark Warner was house-sitting (home owners may have returned to some angry neighbours), not only can they boast about free electricity, but they've created their rawest and most organic album yet.

While this album packs quite a punch and shows that, left to their own devices, After The Fall can produce a solid record, it unfortunately doesn't offer any tracks that stand out as singles, or are as catchy as 2004's Mirror Mirror or 2005's Concrete Boots. That said, put Bittersweet's Lies or Dirty Sheets up against either of those past singles in a live environment and it will tear them a new one. The band said they made this record for no one else but themselves. These 11 songs truly reflect that claim, and it wouldn't be surprising to find After The Fall playing club shows 15 years from now, even if to no one other than themselves and a few drunks.