For starters, you have to love an album title like Falling Awake. If we fall asleep, why don’t we also fall awake? It’s funny how behavioral expressions get started. Status Foe is a band from Indianapolis.
Midwestern acts oftentimes have a reputation for being meat and potatoes, good time hard rock. This band, however, is not quite so lighthearted. Although it’s difficult to pinpoint many direct musical
influences, it’s easy to recognize how this is quite the serious act.
Like many songs on this 12-song release, the album’s title cut features intricate electric guitar interplay. In fact, although they’re miles apart, some of these musical moments sound a lot like Radiohead. The
album’s title song also includes shifting time signatures. This leads to some progressive rock comparisons, as well.
Vocals are equally complex. Singing is provided by multi-instrumentalist Colby Holmes, who plays bass, keyboards and guitars. The fourpiece also includes Chad Prifogle (drums), Larry Anderson (guitar) and Warren Kost on bass (and also pedal steel!). Each musician is given plenty of space to improvise. While there are some tracks clocking in at around the usual three-minute length, some are extended over the five-minute mark.
One album highlight is “It Was Overstated,” which is also one of the album’s longer tracks. The recording spotlights some really nice electric guitar interplay. In these moments, the band sounds a little
like a jam band. Clearly, the group can come off like different bands, at different times. The group also sounds quite comfortable together. Like a unit. More like a whole, rather than four joined parts. That’s
many times difficult to achieve. Egos are oftentimes an issue with rock bands, and it takes a lot of self-sacrifice for all four members to buy into the group’s goals, rather than reach for personal representation.
If the sound of Kost’s pedal steel piques your curiosity, you can hear plenty of it on “Peel and Faded.” This one has a rumbling, tumbling groove. The vocal is placed somewhat towards the back of the mix, while Kost (and the track’s guitar parts) are pushed to the front. Oh, and it’s not country at all, which is the style where pedal steel is most prevalent. Steel guitar is so much more versatile than many might give it credit for. There are even some Nigerian bands that utilize a whole lot of steel guitar. Yes, it’s perfect for ‘tear in your beer’ songs, but it’s useful for so many other types of songs.
Guitar is central to the majority of these recordings, which is why the keyboard part that introduces “Center of Nowhere” seems to come – no pun intended – from out of nowhere. It also finds Holmes going into a really nice falsetto parts while singing it.
There’s a whole lot going on on Status Foe’s Falling Awake. It’s an album that requires close attention and repeated listens in order to fully digest. But it’s worth it. These are four extremely talented
musicians, and they have obviously poured their hearts and souls into this recording. Ah, and they must be extremely good live, as it is evident just how much they enjoy playing together. There’s just no
better music to fall awake to.
-Dan MacIntosh
Falling Awake Will Be Released on 20th April 2022