Falling Joys are an Australian alternative rock band formed in Canberra in 1985. The original line-up included Suzie Higgie on lead vocals and guitar and Stuart G. Robertson on bass guitar. By the end of 1988 Higgie and Robertson, now on guitar, were joined by Pat Hayes on bass guitar and vocals, and Pete Velzen on drums. They have released three albums, Wish List (1990), Psychohum (1992) and Aerial (1993). Both the latter two albums reached the ARIA Albums Chart Top 50. They disbanded in 1995 but reunited in 2011 and, again, in July 2016.
History
1985–1989: Formation and Omega
Falling Joys were formed in Canberra in 1985 by Suzie Higgie on lead vocals and guitar (ex-Get Set Go); Anthony Merrilees on drums; Robin Miles on keyboards and vocals; and Stuart G. Robertson on bass guitar and vocals. They played in the Canberra area and in Sydney and were soon joined by Andrew McFarlane on saxophone.
McFarlane, Merrilees and Miles, all left the band in late 1985: Higgie and Robertson were joined by Ken Doll on drums. In April 1986 the trio played their last Canberra gig, before relocating to Sydney; they co-headlined with fellow Canberra-formed band, the Plunderers, which had moved to Melbourne. With Craig Adam on keyboards Falling Joys recorded a single, "Burnt So Low", in August. It was released in January of the following year and the band signed with Volition Records.
By the end of 1988 Higgie and Robertson, now on guitar and vocals, had recruited Pat Hayes on bass guitar and vocals (fellow Canberrans, the Hayes' brothers included Bernie Hayes of Club Hoy and Anthony Hayes aka Stevie Plunder of the Plunderers) and Peter Velzen on drums (aka Pete Pillage, ex-the Plunderers). Bernie Hayes, Anthony Hayes, Pat Hayes and Peter Velzen also performed regularly - most every Sunday night at the Sandringham Hotel in Newtown as the Shout Brothers with a cult following. Robertson worked in videotape operations and Higgie as a vision mixer. The Falling Joys were part of the Duckberg group, a set of independent bands publishing their own record label, and recorded their first few singles under this label. Secret Seven was another of the bands publishing under this label.
Falling Joys next three singles, "Nearly a Sin" (June 1988), "You're in a Mess" (December 1988) and "Tunnel Vision" (July 1989), were followed by their debut extended play, Ω (aka Omega), in November 1989. Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, noticed that "Higgie's breathy vocals on these records were just one of the band's trademark sounds." Penelope Layland of The Canberra Times described Omega as "A tempting four-track EP from [the band]. Recent line up changes do not appear to have had a radical effect on the music, which is still dominated by the vocals and song-writing of Suzie Higgie." She felt that "probably the best track on the EP, 'Burnt So Low', [is] an upbeat number with thrumming guitars."
Amanda Lynch, Layland's associate, interviewed Higgie who "draws material from 'every facet of experience' and incorporates these in her songs. 'For instance, I was in an elevator the other day and I hate elevators; I also write about my friends, relationships, and what I do when I get up – there are just so many things to write about'." Lynch opined that "they [are] successful at playing commercially appealing songs that aim at a broad audience... [and] have battled hard to achieve recognition with their bright well-crafted sound that has been branded 'pop with muscle'." In Canberra they had frequently played at the Australian National University (ANU) Refectory Bar. By 1989 the band played frequently at the Annandale Hotel, Sydney. They supported international touring acts, including Buzzcocks in that year.
1990–1992: Wish List & Psychohum
The group released their debut studio album, Wish List, in December 1990. The album was "quickly picked up" by youth national radio station, 2JJJ–FM, which "has given the record good rotation." The group had "spent a fortnight in an improvised studio in the Blue Mountains in Wish Lists pre-production period, where a handful of the album's songs were written between 'working out whose turn it was to chop the fire wood ... and Suzie cooking lentils." The album reached the top 60 on the ARIA Albums Chart. Eleven of its twelve tracks were produced by Adrian Bolland and Falling Joys, with "You're in a Mess" produced by John Harvey.