our pal matt falkowski has new music out today! what’s that? you’ve heard that phrase a few times this year already? yes — falkowski has been super prolific in 2019. pluto boy was released in january, the bad posture ep was released in march, and now in mid-july we’re treated to another full album, also called bad posture. and before i talk about the new album, i want to talk about the ep. that four-song release, bad posture mach 1, if you will, was a stripped back, acoustic offering, with falkowski writing and recording it within the span of a few days. it is admittedly lo-fi, but it’s very special nonetheless as an example of how great songwriting can outshine, and even enhance, the imperfections of DIY recording. and with that said, the bad posture ep serves as a fascinating case study against the full lp.
bad posture, the full album, features the same four songs from the ep alongside four new ones. the big difference, then, is that they’ve mostly been re-recording in a home studio with longtime collaborator rex thustan (who you may know as eel people). so if the ep served as a reminder of the power of great songwriting, the lp shows how a slick presentation can turn good songwriting into stone-cold classics. not only are most of these songs now electrified, but they’ve got harmonies and backing drum tracks and the whole package. the songs — with the exception of one — are all so different that they feel like brand new tracks altogether. the caveat here is “bad posture”, which is the only track that was kept in its original form, and falkowski has described it as their “second semester breakdown in one act.”
here are my three favorite moments of bad posture:
“morning breath”: i’m highlighting “morning breath” for a couple of reasons. (1) it’s the first “new” song on the record after the opening “slouch and stutter”, and (2) it captures a lot of the strengths of falkowski’s lyricism. the song is not only personal, but falkowski recounts the events in perfect clarity. OR he invents them whole-cloth, in case “morning breath” is fiction, and to be honest, either way is impressive. the descriptions of conversations, of sensory experiences (stale coffee, morning breath, nose running), bring the listener straight into the experience. and hey, i know that sounds like the mark of good prose, but it’s all set to a killer melody.
“crooked smile”: i’ve already written about this song when it was released as a single ahead of bad posture, so you can read that post if you are interested. instead of re-litigating all of that, i’ll just say that this song is a cool example of how falkowski is able to take a personal, heart-on-their-sleeve and blow it up into a song that would easily fill a stadium. every time i hear it, i imagine by the last chorus a crowd of people swaying together singing in unison. so what’s the magic? fuck, i dunno. my speculation is that falkowski is tapping into some very traditional songwriting styles and melodies, but they are bringing them up to date with new and interesting lyrical themes. it’s crowd-pleasing heartbreak! ™
“i ate god”: even though you can probably think of several counter-examples, i always like to think of the final track of an album as a glimpse of where the artist is heading. bad posture‘s closer, though, bridges falkowski’s acoustic past with their present and future. and at the 90-second mark, “i ate god” changes its direction without adding or removing any of its component parts. that ability, to change things on a dime without fundamentally changing the song is something that happens a few times on bad posture (like the key shift in “crooked smile” or the kick-start in “coffee”). this turn in “i ate god”, though, is one final turn, and it showcases falkowski’s beautiful voice in multichannel.
so yeah, go listen to bad posture. it’s only 8 songs, and falkowski refuses to waste any of your time. in less than 20 minutes, you’ll feel like you’ve gotten to know someone intensely, personally, and honestly.
