South African indie-alternative rock project The Fismits return with their new single ‘Scars’, the first chapter of their forthcoming EP ‘Falling Joy’, due 26 June. Accompanied by a music video, the track presents the definitive recorded version of a song first written three decades ago and long regarded as a live favourite.

Originally composed in the mid-1990s by Bruce Barrett during his time with Mark Biagio in The Mind Theatre, ‘Scars’ developed a reputation for its shifting dynamics and distinctive rhythmic pulse. Biagio, now the driving force behind The Fismits, has revisited the song to give it the considered studio treatment it never previously received, bringing one of their early collaborations to its definitive recorded form.

Reworked, re-keyed and reconstructed during sessions in 2024 and 2025 at Dirty Badger Music, ‘Scars’ emerges with renewed focus and emotional weight. Produced, mixed and mastered by Mark Biagio, the recording balances tension and melody with a restrained alternative rock sensibility that feels both reflective and immediate.

‘Scars’ is the first of three singles from ‘Falling Joy’, an EP that revisits Barrett’s mid-1990s material through a contemporary lens. The upcoming singles, ‘Independence’ and ‘When’, expand the project’s arc, while ‘Too Small A Word’ closes the release in darker, introspective territory. Rather than revisiting the past for nostalgia, the EP reframes it with clarity and resolution.

Formed in 2016, The Fismits have built a catalogue that includes the EP ‘Anywhere’ (2017), the album ‘Before the Hindsight’ (2020), and the 2024 single ‘Halen’. With ‘Scars’, The Fismits bridge past and present in a release that feels measured, assured and long overdue.

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