Courtship, Patric Fallon’s playful side-project for writing sluggish, lo-fi pop music, has been unusually silent over the last six months and in a digital world where people move from project to project at an unholy rate this may have led some to believe it had reached its end. Thankfully this is not true, Fallon is planning to give “Hope” (pun intended) to the masses on the 6th of August and leading up to its release he’s uploaded two songs off the EP as free downloads on his SoundCloud. One is titled “Midwestern Humility”, the second and focus of this post is “The People Around You”. From the sound of this song you’d think Fallon was from the west coast instead of Brooklyn as it has sort of subdued beach anthem qualities to it. Noise swishes back and forth, reminiscent of an ocean breeze, as the track begins to heat up with the deep thud of a kick ripping through the mix. As with many of his songs a vocal is laid over the top by one of five potential vocalists. Also due to either clever mixing knowledge (or lack of) it sounds distant; the effect gives song a bit of charm and a DIY element. About midway through is when he really hits his stride, the first two minutes of build led to a release and quick addition of a few guitar chords that loop and finish the song out. Without digging too deep, the track is pop music at its heart and to paraphrase Kindness, it’s part of the five percent that is exciting, vital, and significant.

Stream: Courtship – The People Around You