Falcon: Falcon EP

Falcon: Falcon EP Falcon can only hope their music is half as engaging as their story. The story goes that from 1986-88, Jared Falcon attended Petaluma Junior High in Petaluma, California. He played baritone sax in the marching band. He was not a great student. He seemed like an average kid. However, he was a song writing prodigy. He wrote close to a song a day and recording each onto a Fisher Price tape recorder. This practice started in January 1987 and ended, 336 songs later, in February 1988, when Mr. Falcon was institutionalized. Jared Falcon's classmates from Petaluma Junior High, Shannon Ferguson and Neil Rosen, found the tapes and decided to start a tribute band of sorts to their fallen classmate. They named the band Falcon, after their institutionalized songwriter. The story sounds like a far-fetched movie plot. Whether its true or not, it's a great tale. So two decades after Jared Falcon's alleged institutionalization, Falcon releases their debut EP. The band sounds like a mixture of Death Cab for Cutie with the Flaming Lips. It has elements of psychedelic pop, indie, and emo. I must admit the music isn't immediately engaging. The more you think of a 15-year-old kid writing these songs in his bedroom and recording them, the more accessible the songs seem to become. You would think with 336 songs already written the band would be able to put more than five songs on a record. With that said, for a debut EP, Falcon does a great job. The EP definitely raises awareness and has me looking forward to a full-length. Rating: 6.3/10 MP3: Falcon "Listen In" Buy: iTunes, Insound