Like an unleashed hungry junkyard dog, Fangz are heading straight for your jugular – a unrelenting wall of thumping pumping punky rock blasting like a tornado through your head in the new single ‘Falling Is Pretty Normal’. In executing such a visceral blast, the band is not afraid to deal with themes of loss and pain:
And I wanna know,
When I wake up in the morning,
I find it hard to pull through,
And I’m searching for a way to better myself,
If I’m drinking, I’m not thinking,
I’m trying to block out what is real,
Then I wake up without warning,
I’ll find it hard to pull through.
Frontman Joshua Cottreau says of the track:
‘Falling Is Pretty Normal’ was written just after I lost someone close to me. 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.”
The deep and thoughtful themes provide a sobering antithesis to the euphoric melodies and guttural guitars – and the band shows, as they bare their collective teeth, they are not devoid of a ribald sense of humour either, evinced by the accompanying video, directed by Rhys Bennett. A clear nod to the famous Blink 182 video, the band provides visual stimulation to the good burghers of the inner west of Sydney:
‘Falling Is Pretty Normal’, the title track and final single from Fangz’s third studio EP – produced by Stevie Knight (Yours Truly, Stand Atlantic, The Dead Love) and mixed by James Paul Wisner (Paramore, Underoath).
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.
Feature Photograph: Rhys Bennett – @highvoltagephotography
