mxdwn PREMIERE: Mines Falls Channels Classic Downtempo Influences on New Song “From Behind Glass”

Los Angeles brother duo Mines Falls have a unique take on pop music that could be described as “glacial pop.” Today we’re premiering their new song “From Behind Glass,” a track that takes influences and elements from more experiemental genres like downtempo and post-rock but the end result is an accessible alternative pop song with soaring choruses and moody verses. On September 18 they release their new self-titled album, which is their second following 2018’s debut Nepenthe.

Unlike your typical alternative radio hit, “From Behind Glass” is an intricately layered composition with various pieces coming together to guide the listener down a different path with each listen. There are certainly elements of popular rock bands like early Coldplay or Radiohead’s more straightforward releases. In addition to the traditional rock song structure, “From Behind Glass” features a heavy electronic influence, opening with a glitchy minimalist beat. The opening hook and matching piano lead the way and set the tone for the rest of the album, which concludes with an extended instrumental section featuring strings, piano and of course an ever-present electronic beat.

“In some ways this song epitomizes the sound we were gravitating towards with this album: angular, unsettling, and neither organic nor fully electronic,” said “A wonderful musician from Chicago, Matchess, who also performed in a feature film I shot in the summer of 2019, plays the beautiful strings, which provide a counterpoint to Erik’s sharper analog synth sounds. Like several other songs on this album, the lyrics paint a portrait of a deteriorating relationship that’s a few parts autobiographical and several parts fiction.”  

The brothers wrote and recorded Mines Falls in 2018 following the release of their debut. The duo both work in the film industry, so the recording sessions came between long days on set.

Mines Falls track list

1. “Passenger Door”
2. “Red Moon Car Wreck”
3. “Low Moon Rising”
4. “Nightingale”
5. “Hey Mother”
6. “Sirens”
7. “Cowards”
8. “From Behind Glass”
9. “Lifeboat”