Freefall Rescue's full-length debut, Sitting On The Launchpad, is a depiction of human exploration, with all the exhilarating and terrifying emotions that can accompany it. It's a ten-song missile of an album by the Los Angeles group, soaring through wide, expansive arrangements where indie rock, synth-pop, and art rock connect. 

 

With lyrics centering around new frontiers, fragility, and love, Freefall Rescue's music takes unexpected twists and turns into triumphant dance grooves, celestial soundscapes, and plaintive guitar passages, while never losing sight of a powerful melody. “Any detours, elevations or weird breakdowns in our songs are an emotional decision,” says Moseman, the band's chief songwriter along with Carlos Naranjo. “We don't want to miss the depth of what we feel.”

 

At the center of the album cover is a child astronaut, Luca, standing on a beach. Luca also appears in the title track's music video and other visuals. Often, she is surrounded by the band, who are dressed in suits and ties in homage to NASA's personnel in the 1960s. “The space mission concept comes from the title track, which was born from my inspiration to seize my purpose, while the artwork and some of the other songs were fueled by Carlos's enthusiasm for space and surreal art,” Moseman says. “In a way, Luca inspired us. She's a reminder of our childhood imaginations, when we'd say ‘I want to be a fireman’ one day, and then switch to say ‘I want to be an astronaut’ the next day. But then we grow up and put limitations on ourselves.” 

 

After releasing their debut EP, Rise, and playing live shows around LA, Freefall Rescue started writing for their first album. Going through several lineup changes, they kept on rehearsing and recording. Although Moseman and Naranjo are the main songwriters, much of the music is created through collective improvisation within the band, so they worked on merging everybody's widely divergent influences  (with a few being Keane, Travis, Pink Floyd, Paul McCartney, Death Cab For Cutie, and Arctic Monkeys) into a distinct sound. “We also wanted to be a bit less dark and more uplifting on the new album,” Moseman says. 

Sitting On The Launchpad is mixed by Martin Cooke (Death Cab for Cutie), and it will be self-released by Freefall Rescue in August, 2022. Three singles will precede the album: the anthemic “Lemons” (out now), the fun dance-pop song “Medicine”, and the cinematic title track. All singles will be accompanied by music videos, and the band will also provide ways for fans to get deeper into the songs via their website, where they can “Join The Expedition.”

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- Nikki O'Neill