Photo credit: Rhys Bennett – @highvoltagephotography
Sydney-based punk quartet FANGZ have today revealed their new single and music video ‘Falling Is Pretty Normal‘, the title track and final single from their third studio EP – produced by Stevie Knight (Yours Truly, Stand Atlantic, The Dead Love) and mixed by James Paul Wisner (Paramore, Underoath).
Beginning with viscous guitars and a snare roll crescendo, the song is a thundering release of cathartic energy, highlighted by the band’s melodic aptitudes. Frontman Joshua Cottreau’s soaring voice skilfully conveys the track’s emotion as the verse builds towards the blistering hook, abounding with piercing harmonies and distinctive vitality. Call and response vocals and a menacing guitar solo pave the way for an explosive finale.
Alongside the single is the nostalgic accompanying video – filmed, directed and edited by Rhys Bennett of High Voltage Photography (Polish Club, Totally Unicorn). Paying homage to blink-182’s video for ‘What’s My Age Again?’, the clip features the band members performing the song and running naked around various locations in Sydney’s Inner West. With eccentric hilarity and multiple cameos, the buoyant video contrasts the song’s heavier themes.
“‘Falling Is Pretty Normal’ was written just after I lost someone close to me,” says Cottreau. “I wasn’t coping at all, and I found myself spiralling without even realising. I would have these vivid dreams in which the departed would be there and it’d feel so real. In that moment I’d be happy. Then my alarm would sound, and the reality would hit me like a tonne of bricks. It’s about learning to deal with loss and knowing that the person maybe gone but the lessons they taught you still live on as long as you remember.”
To coincide with the release, FANGZ will be embarking on a 10-date national headline tour, including an appearance at Halloween Hysteria and multiple performances in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and numerous regional towns. This continues from the band’s sold-out ‘Self Medicate’ tour in 2021, where they made appearances throughout NSW, ACT, VIC and QLD.
Singles from the EP have been heavily supported by the likes of Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music, along with Australian radio stations triple j, triple j Unearthed, Triple M, The Faction, SYN FM, 4ZZZ, 2SER, Radio Adelaide, Three D Radio, Edge Radio, and New Zealand stations Crescendo Radio, KICK FM, The Generator and Radio One 91FM.
The band also received online praise from NME, Blunt Magazine, The AU Review, Hysteria Mag, Maniacs, AAA Backstage, Australian Music Scene, Music Feeds, HEAVY Mag, Rawing In The Pit, GC Live, Something You Said, Punktuation, Backseat Mafia, Black of Hearts, Milky, LivewireAU and Guitar World.
