Lotus Eaters - "Falling"
Artist: Lotus Eaters
Author: Sarah
Date: 01/25/2026
Listen: Youtube
I'd at least vaguely known about the Lotus Eaters for a while now, by virtue of inclusion of their song "Whistles and Bells" on Harriet Records' The Long Secret, but hadn't ever really listened to them beyond that until earlier this month, when I got my hands on a copy of "Falling". Since then, I've been making up for lost time as I get totally obsessed with the way they sound.
Things get kicked off with the title track of the single, and with the combination of jangle pop and mandolin, it's a bit tempting to say this is the low-budget version of R.E.M.'s Out of Time. But Tim Tan's reedy violin quickly draws a contrast, and in particular I absolutely adore the sweetness of Vanessa Tanaka's vocals here! I'm not sure that it's the strongest chorus I've ever heard, but the band just comes together so well that it's all about the sound for me.
Of the B-sides, "Fishing Boat" is definitely the best; it ends up sounding country to "Falling"'s folk rock, plus we've got some additional vocals from George Howard, who reminds me a lot of The Reivers's John Croslin. It's not the most memorable song they've got, but it's totally solid in context. I don't really care for the other B-side, "Top of the World", honestly. They kinda drop the country/folk sound that I find so addictive and instead go for something harder, including a guitar solo that wouldn't exactly sound out of place on your local classic rock station. I guess I admire the attempt to stretch the boundaries of a Lotus Eaters song, though I'm not sure that the debut single is the best place for it? In any case, they don't return to that sound on any of their other songs, so I guess they agree with me on that.
Overall, I probably wouldn't consider the Lotus Eaters to be an all-time forgotten great band, except in my most hyperbolic moments; while their songs are absolutely gorgeous, they do somewhat lack memorability. For example, I've listened to this single probably 15-20 times in the past two weeks, and still haven't got it totally straight in my head how any of the vocal melodies go. On the other hand, there must be something that kept me listening to Lotus Eaters that much this month. So I guess they're not an all-time great band, but in a win for style over substance, they've got an all-time great sound. Sometimes that's all you need.