by Caroline Nieto (@caroline.nieto)
On their debut single, “Water,” Facing establishes itself as a band to be watched. Made up of Nathan Whitman, Kirk Rawlings, and Claudia Ferme, they’re bold, with a sound that carves its own space in today’s music landscape. Driven by electronic percussion, the song starts with just a bass drum and the voice of Ferme stating, “I watch the water.” The clean beginning quickly falls to disarray as extraneous noise strikes like a machine breaking down. No other instrumentation joins for the song’s duration—still, Ferne sings apathetically, with a siren-like tone that skirts attention from the mild chaos of the music.
It’s the union of these two sounds that gives Facing their edge—even lyrics that don’t reveal stakes beyond swimming are steeped with meaning when the band pools their power. The versions in Italian and Spanish change nothing but the words, and when played sequentially are downright hypnotic. Facing describes themselves as a combination of dance music, dream pop, and noise rock, and if “Water” is any indication of the rest of their music, these genres are in good hands.