After the Fall

After The Fall
celebrates CD
release

by Jesse D. Stanek

Make no mistake. Behind the jangly guitars and frequent volume surges, local act After The Fall plays pop music. It’s not the bubble-gum pop of Top 40 fare or even the throwaway bridge-filled crap that slobber-mouthed record label executives trip over themselves to sign. Rather, it is a much more focused, driven sound with a noticeable focal point and catchy tidbits throughout. At times the music can be misleading, sounding much heavier than it ever becomes; at times almost straining to find a balance between youthful angst (with lyrics like “We’re going through changes, the kind of thing that sets fire to our hearts”) and all around accessibility. The band recently caught some ears when it performed live at January’s OEA Awards.

“We’re rock,” guitarist Derek Stearns said. “Even though that’s the most cliché thing you could possibly say, but I’d say we’re rock with a popular twist. We change it up, you know, we throw in heavy metal riffs.”

The five-piece band consists of Stearns on guitar, Steven Sojka on bass, Justin Eatherton on drums, Justin Inget on vocals and Casey Mintken on guitar. The band cites contemporaries like Taking Back Sunday and The Used as influences and falls into the same sonic cubbyhole as the aforementioned acts. With one EP under its belt (2007’s We Invented A World), After The Fall is set to self-release their first proper long player this month, entitled You Don’t Have to Sleep to Dream. The album has a polished, professional sound and the songwriting and musical compositions show a band comfortable in its own shoes and straining diligently for the next level.

“As far as the writing goes,” Stearns said, “it really depends on the song. Two of us live in Blair and the rest of the band lives in Omaha but we all have access to do the home recording stuff. Sometimes it will start with a riff and we’ll just collaborate from there till it’s done. But there’s actually two songs on the album that were put together and recorded without any of us ever playing together in the same room.”

In the five years the band has been together it’s been able to attract a decent- sized following, playing well-attended bills at The Waiting Room, Sokol Underground and The Rock among other local venues. ATF has only done a handful of long weekend, regional tours but the new album should give them a leg up in getting their sound to people outside Nebraska. The songs fit well together (although sometimes they may sound a bit too much alike, but that’s a common problem for young bands) and should only prove to bolster the band’s live reputation. ATF is definitely a band that knows what kind of sound it wants, and as the players perform more often they’re sure to build on an already solid start.

“We’d hopefully like to be doing some small touring around the region in the future,” Stearns said. “And maybe that’ll lead to opening for some bigger bands.”

After The Fall releases its new album You Don’t Have to Sleep to Dream Saturday, March 20 at The Waiting Room, 6212 Maple St. Tickets are $8 and the doors open at 8 p.m. The Rising, Screaming for Silence, Aurasing and Against The Artificial will open.
18 Mar 2010 - The Reader