“I’m Trying” is the new Fallon Cush single

By Henry Lipput 

Steve Smith has been a staple of the Sydney music scene for over 30 years. With his band Fallon Cush he has released five full albums, the last being 2019’s Stranger Things Have Happened.

And then things went quiet.

At the beginning of 2020 Smith suffered a breakdown that left him with crippling anxiety, He stopped working, becoming increasingly isolated, and barely picked up a guitar.

I wasn’t aware of any of this when earlier this year I reviewed “Grain of Salt,” the second single from the new Fallon Cush Tricks EP. It seemed to me the lyrics were an ask for help during a difficult time from someone who has cried wolf or misled a friend too many times. It didn’t sound anything like an ask for help from its author, but it certainly sounds like that now.

However, the lyrics for Smith’s latest single from the new EP, “I’m Trying,” are in the first person: “The anxiety won’t subside/But I’m trying/To break free.” The sound is a bit more upbeat than the first two singles with Smith and producer/multi-instrumentalist Josh Schuberth giving it more of a full band sound; it’s as if the full strength of Fallon Cush and Steve Smith are right around the corner. It’s certainly a positive sign for the future.

You can pre-order the Tricks EP and you’ll get three of the five singles (“Hang On To Me,” “Grain Of Sand,” and “I’m Trying”).