As a high-school senior, life can often feel limitless and impossibly restrictive at the same time. And like many sensitive 18-year-olds before him, Garrett Lemons dealt with that tension by funneling it into restless lyric-writing sessions. Inspired by a British-literature class lecture on Romanticism, he compiled a series of meditative poems—about school, his parents, romantic feelings for “some dumb girl”—that became the foundation for Wordsworth, his expansive debut EP with post-rock/prog band Falloir.
“I was starting college, and I still don’t really know where I’m going with it,” says Lemons, now 20. “I started studying existentialism, just trying to figure out what that was. I was a little unclear but still fascinated by the idea of life being perceived by the person living it. Each person is living life through their own eyes. I drew on this idea of our perceptions of who we are and how our experiences change the way we think and create.”
Lemons fleshed out three tracks with his brother, drummer Breck, who steered the material toward proggier waters with tricky time signatures and dynamic shifts. Joined by a temporary bassist and lead guitarist Joe Dockery (the latter recruited through a message board), Falloir grouped at a Maryville studio with producer Pat Kicklighter, who guided the disparate elements—the knotty, cascading dual-guitar riffs, Breck’s dense, pummeling percussion, and Garrett’s emo yelp—into a cohesive, 19-minute journey.
Falloir posted Wordsworth on their Bandcamp back in March, and their timing couldn’t have been better: Knoxville is exploding with young, prog-tinged bands from across the spectrum (the space-jazz-punk sprawl of Maps Need Reading, the pastoral metal assault of White Stag). But just as the band members are trying to make sense of their personal lives, they’re also evolving musically. Their newest material, bits of which they’ve already debuted live, hints at a more linear, less self-consciously intricate style.
“I definitely never envisioned the sound that we came up with, and I don’t think we could recreate that,” Garrett says. “Definitely not. What we do next is not going to sound similar to what we did prior. I think it’ll still sound like us, but it won’t be the big post-rock/progressive rock record that Wordsworth was, just because that’s not where we’re at right now.”
Since releasing Wordsworth, Falloir have expanded to a quintet with new bassist Connor Marine and keyboardist Sarah Juhlin. With their live sound filled out, Garrett is focusing more on vocals, leaving the heavy guitar lifting to Dockery. It’s a transitional period, but that hasn’t slowed their local progress; they’ve become a staple at local venues like the Longbranch Saloon and Pilot Light, opening shows for bands like Eternal Summers and Jamaican Queens.
Meanwhile, the band is working on their first album, which is shaping up to be a departure. “One thing people have complimented us on is our progressiveness,” Dockery says. “I’m hoping we can still offer a little touch of that.”
Falloir have been testing out new songs onstage to gauge crowd reaction, booking out-of-town shows in Georgia and possibly Myrtle Beach, and aiming to finish up their college programs within the next year. They plan to record a new single, then hunker down on the album, with Dockery asserting himself more in the writing process.
“We’re digging for our sound as a collective,” the guitarist says. “We’re chipping away at what we thought was our sound, narrowing it down to something unique to the band. I think each record we put out, from Wordsworth to the end of the band, will be different, but still us. I think we could put out a country album, and you’d still know it’s Falloir.”
Even if Falloir hasn’t chiseled its style into something definitive, they’re content to let their music evolve, contributing to what Dockery views as a wide-scale advance in the local scene.
“I think Knoxville has always set a set scene—metal or pop-punk,” he says. “Jointly, a lot of people are hearing things that they like, and Knoxville is trying to find its collective sound again. The biggest thing right now is math rock, and I think people are going folk with things. I think the prog scene is something that’s happened by accident, really. Times are changing.”
Ryan Reed is a freelance music/culture writer-editor. In addition to Knoxville Mercury, he contributes to publications like Rolling Stone, Billboard Magazine, Paste, Relix Magazine, Stereogum, Ultimate Classic Rock, Esquire, and Rhapsody. On the increasingly rare occasion he isn't slumped behind a laptop, he's probably teaching adjunct college classes, record shopping, or unsuccessfully attempting to master "The Purdie Shuffle."
Share this Post