When considering the fact that Falmouth four-piece The Isabelles first arrived with the greasy fuzz of ‘She’s In Pictures’ over a year ago, it is hard not to not find the sudden passing of time disorientating. Yet in considering the overwhelming nature of time, it is where we find the group have actually left us behind – new single ‘Fall Away’ a three-minute flurry that heralds such progress in their creativity.
Where the ‘Yours & Mine’ EP presented a group in the midst of writing and trying to define what they wanted from their work, the introduction of ‘Fall Away’ proves that they’ve evidently found it. Lead by a tense, impactful rhythm, their atmospheric guitars contain all the melody needed – a delectable penchant that has remained from the start – yet now with a concise energy that, perhaps surprisingly, works with more effect. It coyly builds into a blast of a chorus, Josh Gibbs exasperated as the band fully strike with intense melody. It’s an enigmatic sound – Gibbs and McConkey racing each other to the end with fills – the track physically whirring through to its end, a significant display of potency.
Gibbs spills out within verses, a wholehearted sense of expression that comes across as pleasantly considered rather than verbose. When he strips back to a foundational pace for the chorus, it’s delivered with more aplomb for it, “Cause you fall away from me / you got away from me.”
In transcending the unimportant perimeters of Garage, Psych and even Shoegaze, The Isabelles have found their definitive sound in simply creating exhilarating pop. ‘Fall Away’ shows the group are able to display as much ferocity as they are melody, and when moulded together can create something powerfully convincing.