Italian synth-driven darkwave project Fall Shock is the sonic output of the elusive Francesco Kay and DAM. After a few back and forths, dance-ins, and sit-downs since the departure of Markus O in 2022, the band found a new rhythm, drafting what would become their latest work: Universal Unit Crime.
To open the preorders today, Fall Shock graces us with a searing video and single, “Protect.” Troubled murmurs, whimsical keys, deliberate beats, and captivating guitar strains evoke half-forgotten daydreams and far-off moods, conjuring classic EBM and Dark Electro with modern dance-driven Darwave sensibilities.
Wrapped in a cloak of darkness, one’s soul dances freely with the energy of “Protect.” Within this nocturnal embrace, an internal void stirs in its lyrics — consistent, unflinching, reflecting past spectres. Amid the echoes of self-doubt and past pain, a singular truth emerges: our strength lies in nurturing our core. Amid life’s fleeting moments and poignant memories, the refrain remains: find strength in vulnerability, and sally forth.
In Francesco Kay’s video offering for the song, one drifts through a dreamland where lips straight out of Rocky Horror whisper secrets, and shadows dance like midnight spirits. Somewhere in the obsidian abyss, a lonely, almost Orwellian head floats, while not far off, an elderly couple, perhaps remnants of another time, sit bathed in relentless light. ‘Tis an ode to those who came before us, a poignant nudge about fleeting life, and a gentle chiding for the wisdom we so cavalierly disregard.
Watch the video for “Protect” below:
“I approached the writing for the album in a different way, because DAM and I come from two very distant realities,” says Kay. “I preferred not to tell DAM what to play, I simply explained my mood to him, and tried to make him understand that the songs in Universal Unit Crime spoke of something that he too could feel and experience. His approach to writing the guitar parts without knowing what I wanted specifically led to effective riffs of a magnificent simplicity. I won’t deny that this album feels almost venomous, in fact someone told me they feel such a ‘weird itchy feeling’ to everything.”
In Universal Unit Crime, Kay refrained from speaking about himself, focusing instead on his disapproval of everyday crimes of humanity…specifically the isolation that results from nonconformity. The album was dedicated to two people in his life who recently passed, left alone by their community to fight their battles alone. The album also waxes poetic on social media, where a chase for fame can lead to one’s own downfall.
“My contempt for children who deny and exploit their parents out of greed, parents who are now in the winter of their lives, more fragile than a newborn… these are just some of the topics I address in this new chapter,” Kay concludes.
Manic Depression Records will release Universal Unit Crime on September 15th, 2023. The album is available in both digipack and vinyl formats and features mixing and mastering by Maurizio Baggio, who has worked with Boy Harsher and The Soft Moon.
Pre-order the album here
To flaunt their newest creation, Fall Shock takes it Stateside come October 2023 – a whirl from Tampa’s sunny shores, a dalliance through Georgia and North Carolina, and a finale in Richmond, Virginia.
US TOUR DATES**
**all dates are together with Dead Cool
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