The Calls, Fall Inside Again EP
Atomic Records
What if, instead of red-brick Britpop firmly grounded in Mancunian streets, Stone Roses made postmodern desert psychedelia? Wrap your head around that and you’re halfway to understanding the sound of Leeds trio The Calls. On Fall Inside Again, they give an absolute schooling to anyone who underestimates indie’s power to push boundaries, and somehow they do it without sounding as if they’re bothered at all about anything except falling into the music.
Citing late Radiohead and Tame Impala as influences, when we spoke with vocalist Tom Fuller, he said “what really matters to us is making classic ideas go somewhere that’s different.” And Fall Inside Again delivers on that promise – the high-pitched hum of a classic rock-esque guitar solo tones down the swagger and manages to sound introspective on Tell Me Why; in I Should’ve Known’s gently soaring chorus, Fuller expertly weaves a Gallagherian charisma with the reserved dexterity of Kevin Parker while the soundscape peaks behind him. And that’s just the new tracks – fans will already be familiar with the effortless groove of the title track Fall Inside and A Change Is Gonna Come Around Here’s awesomely alien density, but the Calls’ attention to detail deserves bigging up once again.
It’s still firmly reminiscent of the quintessential unassuming Northern experience, though. The particularly melancholic I Just Thought I’d Say feels as comfortable a soundtrack for watching raindrops slide down a greying windowpane as it does for sweeping through a kaleidoscope sky; and elsewhere while the EP is scattered with wobbly space-age synths and 70s-via-tomorrow guitar eulogising, it’s equally scattered with classic, instantly-familiar hints of indie. To refer to the likes of The Kooks and the Libertines as comfort-blanket indie might be the start of a slippery slope to condemning the landfill, which we’re by no means doing – there’s an undeniable charm, and an undeniable relatability to this cohort of bands. As The Calls channel them in bits and pieces, they easily find their niche in the British indie canon.
Though The Calls didn’t write Fall Inside Again in response to the events of 2020, it certainly feels like they’ve anticipated it. As we… remain inside (again)… it’s a gift to be able to put on a record that combines enough melancholy reflectiveness to stare out the window and romanticise the darkness of the world a little, with enough expansive intricacies that you can lose yourself in them for a while. Fall Inside Again is an EP for escaping into real life.
Fall Inside Again is out on Friday.
