Sometimes a band can get lost. They either lose their way or they get lost in the shuffle. The first kind starts out strong, making music for the sake of art. Then somewhere along the way, be it label pressure, life circumstances, or the creativity dries up the band struggles to recapture the magic. They lose the joy of making music. Or they get lost in the shuffle of hundreds of other bands clamoring for attention. Maybe they seek to spread their creative wings against the labels wishes and the fanbase moves on.
Either way you slice it, Falling Up was a band that I liked their first two offerings but moved on shortly after and didn’t follow them after that. That is, until their swan song received the rare 5 Star review on Christian music website Jesusfreakhideout in 2015. I grew up an avid reader of the site and trusted their reviews so gave them another shot. But not having followed their progression from label rap rock band to experimental indie band with dense concept albums, I couldn’t make the leap and I wrote them off again. But wait…
Fast forward to 2017 when I joined Jesusfreakhideout as a reviewer and tried them for a third time (man I’m slow!) and somewhere in the span of 2017-2021 the swan song album and band began to click. I was able to recognize the brilliance of both, even if I didn’t view them as a go-to band. So, in one final effort in 2022-2023 I decided to give their total catalog a deep dive spanning months to see if they were just going to be respected and not loved. All in all, I’ve developed a deep respect for their overall body of work and I have come to deeply love a few of their less celebrated works. As such, those albums will be heavily represented here in my song choices.
Also, I thought in an ode to their love of concept albums as a band I decided to use the help of A.I. to generate some images that evoke a story to include below. The undeveloped plot is lovers separated on different worlds and his pursuit across dangerous and lonely planets to find her.
In time, maybe I’ll be able to do more justice in describing why these are my picks, but for now these are my Top 25 Falling Up Songs sans commentary.
25. “Searchlights” – Dawn Escapes (2005)
24. “Silver City Sleeps” – The Silver City (2013)
23. “Broken Heart” – Crashings (2003)
22. “Bittersweet” – Crashings (2003)
21. “Hydro” – Self Titled (2015)
20. “Diamnds” – Your Sparkling Death Cometh (2011)
19. “Voices” – Midnight on Earthship (2013)
18. “A Guide to Marine Life” – Captiva (2007)
17. “Mscron” – Your Sparkling Death Cometh (2011)
16. “Home” – Midnight on Earthship (2013)
15. “Boone Flyer” – Self Titled (2015)
14. “Lotus and the Languorous” – Fangs! (2009)
13. “Aeva and the Waving World” – Hours (2013)
12. “The Insect” – Self Titled (2015)
11. “The Woodworker” – Self Titled (2015)
10. “The Dark Side of Indoor Track Meets” – Captiva (2007)
9. “Forms and Shapes” – Your Sparkling Death Cometh (2011)
8. “Greying Morning” – Midnight on Earthship (2013)
7. “Anon the Wind” – House Full of Caverns (2015)
6. “The Moonn and Sixpence” – Fangs! (2009)
5. “Streams of Woe at Acheron” – Fangs! (2009)
4. “Finn Hatches a Plan” – Hours (2013)
3. “Intro to the Radio Room” – Hours (2013)
2. “Circadian” – Your Sparkling Death Cometh (2011)
1. “Sky Circles” – Midnight on Earthship (2013)
Top 25 Falling Up Songs Playlist
joshbalogh 
Hi jukeboxjunkiejosh,
Falling Up is my all time favorite bands that have existed so as such, hadn’t fallen off the radar for me, partially due to the draw of the concept albums they’ve created and how they went about it. While I didn’t always initially like the songs, they were the band I trusted to make emotionally complex and multi-dimensional music that required you to listen to the whole album from start to finish (a few times) to really grasp the themes of the concept fully. Jessy Ribordy has said as much, in that being *the* way to approach their music.
Their history is a fascinating one, from their struggles at BEC, to figuring out their voice when they went independent – the overall theme of their history and music, for me, is adapting to the changing times.
When they went independent in 2010, they published a Kickstarter to obtain funding for their first independent album “Your Sparkling Death Cometh”, a pioneering concept that many have tried but failed at. Their venture succeeded. I remember the first time I listened to “Circadian” and feeling awestruck. It has been an all time favorite of mine.
“Hours” and “Midnight on Earthship” were published in tandem from the fall of 2012 to early winter 2013 and were dubbed officially as “The Machine De Ella Project”, in a span of two weeks between songs, this time set up in a similar manner to pre-orders.
Jessy Ribordy, at the same time, released his audio novella (also called Hours) that loosely followed the themes of the album. It is a fascinating and engaging listen.
Their self titled album was published also on Kickstarter and was worth the wait! It too required a few listens to fully appreciate but it is an appropriate send off. As such, my favorite of their is their final song on that album “Flares”.
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Hi Joshua! (Great name by the way 😉 Thanks for taking the time to read and comment. Yes, they are a pretty fascinating band with a cool journey. What a great overall body of work! Cheers.
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