Florence Road’s ‘Fall Back’ - A debut EP to fall in love with

Irish quartet Florence Road have recently released their debut EP ‘Fall Back’, a new 5-track indie-rock project. The group, formed by four childhood best friends from Wicklow, Ireland, who found community via the posting of covers on TikTok, has steadily become a much-beloved act over the past few months. ‘Fall Back’ is the combination of this palpable love and the group’s immense talent.

The EP opens with the nostalgic track ‘Hand Me Downs’, which reflects on past memories with powerfully hitting choruses through a heavier rock lens. The track, which begins with a softer introduction, clean guitars, and falsetto vocals, leads straight into a realm of electric guitars and heavy-hitting drums that serve as an interlude for the subsequent track.

‘Goodnight’, which alludes to Olivia Rodrigo’s sonic sensibilities — and quite fittingly so, as the band prepares to open for Rodrigo’s 65,000-capacity BST Hyde Park show this week — focuses on moving onwards and leaving the past behind.

‘Caterpillar’, the only acoustic track on the EP and a personal favorite, acts as the sweeter track on the project, breaking down the record and providing listeners with a slight breath of fresh air from their usual alt-rock influences. Being a raw, stripped-down song, the track allows the lyrics to breathe, giving them more emotional depth, which, in turn, makes the song feel like a letter to a close friend.

The EP wraps up with the band’s most popular single: ‘Heavy’. The track begins with guitar-led arpeggios, similar to the first tracks of the EP, albeit this time with a clearer, more distinct tempo and slightly stronger vocals from Lily Aron, the band’s lead singer, which bring listeners back to the impactful choruses Florence Road have already accustomed us to. Ending with a beautifully composed piano outro that leads perfectly back to the start of the project, ‘Heavy’ feels like the perfect outro to end their debut, and a beautiful opening for a very promising career ahead.

Fall Back by Florence Road is out now on all major streaming platforms.

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PHOTOS LEWIS WOLSTENHOLME