The Fismits have officially released their highly anticipated new EP, Falling Joy, alongside the release of their third single, “When”.
For most, an EP is a snapshot of the last year or two, but for The Fismits, Falling Joy represents the completion of a creative journey spanning more than thirty years.
The Fismits‘ New EP is a Conversation Across Time
The origins of this EP trace back to the early 1990s, when songwriter and The Fismits founder Mark Biagio was developing a creative partnership with fellow songwriter Bruce Barrett in the band The Mind Theatre.
While some songs were performed live, many remained unfinished, lingering in rehearsal rooms and private recordings for decades.
Biagio spent the last several years revisiting these tracks, not to recreate the past, but to reinterpret them through the lens of experience.
The result is a five-track release where youthful urgency meets adult perspective. It is a rare record where nostalgia is present, but never dominant; instead, the songs are treated as living works that have evolved naturally through time.
A Paced Journey
The rollout of Falling Joy introduced listeners to the project’s different facets:
“Scars” (March 2026): Long considered one of Barrett’s strongest compositions, this track combines a distinctive guitar riff with subtle rhythmic complexity. Biagio found the definitive version only after decades of refinement, reinforcing the EP’s core theme: some songs simply need time.
“Independence” (May 2026): This track was dramatically reimagined from its British indie roots. By incorporating electronic textures and looping rhythms, the band transformed it into one of their most adventurous, unconstrained recordings.
“When” (Current Single): Originally written in the mid-1990s, this song captures the familiar South African struggle of moving forward while wrestling with uncertainty. The 2026 version is particularly compelling because it is delivered by a voice that has lived through the future it once imagined, turning the song into a true conversation across time.
You can stream/dowload the Falling Joy EP HERE.
Artistic Persistence
The EP is rounded out by the reflective title track, “Falling Joy,” and the final song, “Too Small A Word.” Once conceived as a grand classic-rock statement, “Too Small A Word” has been stripped back into something darker and more vulnerable, closing the EP with raw honesty rather than certainty.
This project is a significant milestone in the evolution of The Fismits. Since emerging in 2016, Mark Biagio has consistently explored themes of family, resilience, and personal history. The success of his 2024 single “Halen” – a tribute written decades earlier alongside members of Live Jimi Presley – foreshadowed his interest in completing unfinished creative conversations.
Falling Joy stands as a powerful statement about artistic persistence. To celebrate, The Fismits held a special launch show at Railways Cafe on Friday, 26 June, marking the culmination of a journey that began in the student rehearsal rooms of Durban. For listeners old and new, these songs are finally ready to belong to the world.
Watch this space for updates in the Music News category on Running Wolf’s Rant.
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