Review Time – For The Unbroken Floodfall

Hailing originally from Bozeman, Montana, now based in Portland, Oregon, Floodfall is a two-piece outfit consisting of David and Zane Hearst. Following their debut Ashes of the Ordinary, which quietly emerged back in 2019, they are now back. This return is with new music in the form of an album called Unbroken. It is Review Time for Floodfall.

Floodfall have earned positive nods before thanks to their dreamier sound and emotionally evocative songwriting. They really seem to be able to straddle that space between nostalgic guitar-led indie and something more modern and moody. There’s a clear affection here for distortion, atmosphere, and slow-burning songcraft that allows their clear passion for music to resonate.

Floodfalls passion is also what resonates with Frowned Upon, to do something for personal satisfaction rather than adhering to typical standards. Frowned Upon celebrates that kind of work in the arts, but no work is perfect, and in this writers opinion the majority of the bands small issues could be rectified with belief.

Familiar and Formulaic Sounds

The duo’s approach across Unbroken quickly reveals a pattern, each track following a recognisable structure, with swirling guitars and subdued vocals attempting to conjure a kind of emotional gravity. There are moments when it almost clicks, when you feel the spark of what they’re trying to achieve. When it doesn’t click it does start to sound like a loop.

Having a pattern when it comes to songwriting and formulation is not in anyway a bad thing. Once established those patterns soon become referred to as ‘styles’. This allows avid listeners to be able to work out who wrote what just from the audio. Early Metallica and recent Metallica songs are fairly different in tone. But that style, that soul of the band is still there.

Voicing My Concerns

Floodfalls singer David Hearst is a perfectly good singer, that is not up for debate. Each line is crisp, clear and deliberate and has a certain uniqueness. David Hearst’s delivery, while earnest, is not fully resonating…yet.

When looking at the biggest rock bands of all time, there is Black Sabbath, The Who, Guns ‘n’ Roses, Sabaton, Rammstein and countless others that can be seen as S-Tier. What do they all have in common?

Each of those legendary singers is unique. Vocal talent and skill is of course needed to be a singer, but what makes vocals hit that legendary point is a sound that is bespoke to the band.

There’s a sense that David is reaching for something emotionally resonant, particularly because the music often suggests more depth. The tone is also very reminiscent of styles of rock, where someone could hear him and say “oh this must be a [insert-genre-name-here] band].

Again, not a bad thing to do, but what could really help Floodfall is the singer settling into his own personal range, not to be afraid to sound a little different and have his own cadence shine through.

Floods of Unbroken Potential

Floodfall clearly have a vision. Their songwriting brushes right up against interesting themes, and their overall sound is good. But Unbroken feels like a project in desperate need of some more confidence to be Floodfall.

Apart from that, there is honestly nothing else wrong with the band. The drum beats are consistent and engaging. The songwriting is really impressive and the overall vibes ticks all the boxes.

Final Frowned Upon Verdict

Unbroken and Floodfall as a whole is not without its charms. There are certainly ideas here that could work with the right development. But as it stands, Floodfall haven’t quite flourished into themselves. Take this as a famous Frowned Upon promise, their music is great. Well worth checking out. All the band needs to do for that next step is realise who Floodfall is and throw themselves into that world.