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Exit Lights

Falling Up | September 12th, 2006

With two well-received albums under their belt, Falling Up has decided to go the route of creating a greatest hits record of sorts. However, instead of just throwing their best-known songs onto a new CD and calling it a day, the boys of Falling Up have decided to put a little effort into creating a remix album. Exit Lights has overhauled a number of songs from Falling Up's previous two albums, Crashings and Dawn Escapes. Also, the album consists of new material—opening song “Islander” and instrumentals “Third Lake” and “Circlewinds.”

“Islander” sets the tone perfectly for the remainder of the album, mixing in a great deal of electronic influence. The remixes begin with “Exit Calypsan” from Dawn Escapes. The song basically remains the same as the previous version. The true highlights of the album begin with remixes from Falling Up's debut, Crashings. “Bittersweet,” “Broken Heart,” and “Escalates” all receive a great treatment after going under the knife for their remixes.

The remainder of the tracks are all taken from Dawn Escapes. A number of things Falling Up did with their remix album work really well. First of all, none of the songs sound similar to their previous versions. All the songs are completely reimagined and recreated, with only the lyrics harkening to the original recordings. The second thing Falling Up did well is completely revamp, lyrics and all, a number of songs. Songs such as “Fearless” and “Exhibition” received this treatment. Finally, Exit Lights has a number of songs with guest appearances. Solomon Olds of Family Force 5, Trevor McNevan of Thousand Foot Krutch, and Rachael Lampa all make appearances on various tracks.

No one should be afraid to purchase this album for fear that it is only a cheap attempt to sell records. Falling Up has legitimately put a great amount of effort into making a truly unique listening experience for their fans. Altogether Exit Lights is an excellent and complete album that shouldn't be passed up by any fan of remix albums or electronic instrumentation. There are no dull tracks on the album. “Searchlights” and “Fearless” are probably the two greatest songs on the record. Check this one out from Falling Up, especially if you haven't given them a chance yet. This is a new Falling Up that we can only hope sticks around for some time.

Reviewed by Jarrod Steinmetz on March 9th, 2008

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