Like most every other musician on the planet, Josh Falling’s career was sidelined by Covid, but he is back now, with a band called Leaf in a Forest.
And Leaf in a Forest has a new album called Galleria, with 14 fast-paced, trippy tracks with a mixture of pop, and rap and God knows what else that he calls alt pop.
“A lot of the choruses have kind of poppy, upbeat melodies and stuff, but then there's some rap elements and some different kinds of tempo changes and stuff that you don't normally see,” he said.
“So it didn’t seem like calling it pop was right, but I'm not sure where else it falls. It just made sense in my head somewhere between alternative and pop, so, yeah, alternative pop. Alt pop.”
The music is all modern, but the titles and inspiration (“I looked at them and just kind of tried to take a story or some emotions or thoughts from them.”) come from art history, “Starry Night,” for instance (Van Gogh), and “The Scream” (Edvard Munch).
The lyrics page on his website is illustrated with paintings by a friend of his named Rock, who created variations of the original classic paintings and presented them as album covers. The one for “The Scream” is the contorted face multiplied in a kind of swirling dream mist that, in Falling’s words, is “creepier than the original.”
The song, though, is more love breakdown than psychotic break: “I forget how long I’ve been holding my breath / I’m not that good but I’m trying my best / I’m suffocating while I’m waiting / Lungs are aching / No persuading you to reach your hand out … .”
And then the chorus begins, “I’m letting out a scream / It’s just inside my head …”
Falling talks fast naturally, and the music and lyrics are delivered in speeds from slow to fast and from fast to rocket.
Work on the songs that became Galleria began before Covid, when Falling was in a two-person band. The other band member went to other things, but Falling began re-working the music, rewriting, re-recording, putting down new bass tracks and vocals.
“I did all of it,” he said, “the ukulele and the bass and vocals. Most of the strings and horns is keyboard.”
For Galleria, ukulele replaces guitar, and Falling’s ukulele lines are as inventive as the Leaf in a Forest rendering of Grant Wood’s “American Gothic” farm couple on the lyric page: the two wear ukulele heads.
Falling and Leaf in a Forest have ideas for where they are going next, but the focus for now is Galleria.
He likes doing things in album-sized wholes rather than putting out a succession of singles and then collecting them into an album.
“I like making something that's all together. I just write better that way,” he said. “So instead of saying, ‘I’m gonna write a song now,’ it’s ‘Let’s do a gallery kind of thing.’ I like to immerse myself in the music.”
He is also looking forward to getting back into live performances, too.
His method for creating music begins separately with lyrics and music. He has a voice memo app that he keeps with him.
“So whenever I have a music idea, usually in the shower or something, I'll record it on there. Sometimes I think of words with it, sometimes it's just a tune. I'll put that in there.”
He also takes a paper journal with him wherever he goes, and jots down lyric ideas as the occur.
“So then, when I decide to write a song, I take these and those and see what's going to work and mix them together. For me, it's two different processes. Sometimes it starts with music, sometimes with lyrics. It just depends on what I find and what I want to run with.”
He’ll take his music wherever he can, but, he said, “I don't necessarily care to be ultra famous.”
“I think that sounds intimidating,” he said. “I kind of want to find that niche crowd that appreciates my kind of music, that likes it. My goal is to get it out there where the people that like it can find it. I hope they enjoy it, because I'm really happy with it.”
Follow Leaf in a Forest and stay connected on all platforms for new music, videos, and social posts.
Galleria on YouTube
Website:
Socials:
.png)
