FallBright is an ambient post-hardcore band from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, formed in 2021 by friends Derrick Murray , Tim Forrester, and Jared Miller. The band has released 7 singles and has shared the stage with acts including Zao, Tiny Moving Parts, Escuela Grind, Jason Richardson, and Dreamwake.
Fallbright leans into more of a nostalgic vibe with their releases that root’s into early 2000’s music that will have fans listening to the bands singles back to back. The production of the bands singles has a raw sound, but it’s also polished enough to have a more modern tone to it. The vocal performance has the perfect balance of aggression and confession through all the lyricism. The instrumentation creates an atmosphere that builds that moment of catharsis for all listeners.
Interviewer: How did the band first come together?
Fallbright: “So the band started in 2020 and it was over Covid. Derrick and I grew up playing music together and had kinda lost contact with each other and I made the first move to message him on Instagram and be like “hey…. I miss you. I wanna hang out again and maybe play music, that would be cool!” and we started writing together in his basement l. I was still learning how to play guitar more comfortably as my role before was always just being a front man. We got more serious about wanting to really play.
I’m a barber by trade and Jared (drums) was actually a customer of mine (still is) and he came in for a haircut and I told him about this music that I was writing and when he asked what it was like, I said that it was similar to “The Devil Wears Prada meets angels and airwaves.” like an ambient post hard-core metalcore thing with the emphasis on the ambient with the delay pedal. We went over to his house and jammed and pretty much the rest of his history….we asked him to join the band and we’ve been a three-piece together for about five years now.”
Interviewer: Where did the band name come from?
Fallbright: “On my lunch break, I was doom scrolling social media, and there was commercial and they were selling wine and they mentioned a phase in wine production called the “fallbright” stage.”
Interviewer: What themes naturally appear in your music?
Fallbright: “I think the theme that appears most in our music is the human struggle. The struggle of the soul. I deal with a lot on depression and anxiety. There’s definitely themes of lacking self-worth and family misfortune. Basically it’s kind of like my diary of all the messed up things in my brain that’s where I get to dump all that stuff and put it somewhere constructive and if there’s other people that listen to it and that helps them feel a little less alone you know for me that’s that’s a big positive.
BUT There’s also themes of redemption and rebuilding yourself and things like that…but it’s kind of always the story of the struggle and it seems to be the thing that really comes through in my lyrics. I’ve lived an interesting life without getting too much into detail about it, but I will say that the music is a great outlet and it’s cool get stuff out. “
Interviewer: How would you describe your sound to someone who’s never heard you before?
Fallbright: “I think initially the first thing that I would go with is ambient post hard-core, ambient metalcore obviously an emphasis on the ambience with shoegaze type parts and delay pedals, etc., but in another way, I always kind of describe it as cinematic like I want the whole set to feel like a movie, I wanted to give people the same feeling that they get when they’re watching a really good scene in a film or cut scene in a good video game.”
Interviewer: What bands or artists shaped your music the most?
Jared: “Underoath, August Burns Red, Loathe, Deafheaven, Static Dress“
Derrick: “Hans Zimmer, LastElle, Emery, Alexisonfire”
Tim: “Underoath, Saosin, The Goo Goo Dolls, Armor for sleep…..any band or album Anthony Green has ever done haha”
Interviewer: What makes your band different from others in your scene?
Fallbright: “That’s a tough question. I mean surface level is obviously the tuning we play in. Currently a lot of heavy bands love a good bouncy down tuned riff and I love that stuff and too and those bands…..I just didn’t want to play it. We stick to the classic early 2000s Metalcore tuning. Drop C sharp. Also us being a 3 piece is kind of strange. At this point we’ve made a lot of friends who definitely would be down to play bass or rhythm guitar for us live….but it’s always been a 3 against the world vibe and we just keep doing our thing. Little Engine That Could , ya know?“
Interviewer: What kind of energy do you try to bring onstage?
Fallbright: “We strive to bring the kind of energy where at the end of the set if we all aren’t out of breath and in need of a gatorade, we know we didn’t bring it like we wanted to.”
Interviewer: What keeps you motivated creatively?
Fallbright: “I can’t speak for everyone, but what keeps me motivated creatively is the other guys in the band. Our individual musical tastes are extremely diverse, so, we’re all pulling vastly different musical ideas, and meshing them into one wholly unique sound. I see the passion that they bring to the music, so, it’s not hard to find the motivation. “
Tim: “What keeps me motivated is also the other guys like Jared said. Their excitement and drive makes me want to continue and put 100% in. We all have careers outside of this so the fact that we all give 100% just for the love of the game so to speak excites me consistently.”
Interviewer: What’s one thing you’ve learned from being in a band?
Fallbright: “We have all had to learn how to do a lot of technological things to make our band work. As a drummer, I had to learn how to mic my drums and record ideas to send to the guys or record over an idea that one of them has sent to me. This has allowed us to do a lot of writing when we are apart from each other. Most of our writing is done on our own. Tim creates our live sets and has had to learn how to put all of the tracks and sound fx onto a grid. Our songs are to a click that I play to and all of this was foreign to us when the band.”
Interviewer: What’s next for the band?
Fallbright: “Our plan is to hit the studio in the Fall to record a 6 song EP. Once it is recorded, we would like to hand it over to an artist and allow them creative freedom to create the art they feel as they listen to the music. We are looking forward to this because until now, we have only released singles.”
Interviewer: What do you want new listeners to remember after hearing your music?
Fallbright: “Hmmm I’ve thought this question over a bunch. So we’ve said before, when we play live you might not know who we are or any of our music….but we want to send you home with a lasting impression. Like “man that FallBright band was kinda wild right?” Wild, weird, sad, cool. Whatever you wanna describe us as. If it leaves an impression that’s a win. As far as listening on Spotify and just driving around or something….idk….I want you to feel something. I hope you can feel the sincerity and it makes you think.”
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