genres: experimental alternative + indie rock
for fans of: Sleeping At Last, Switchfoot, Relient K, Owl City
There’s been a handful of times an album has truly changed my perception of what music can be, so it seems like a good opportunity to talk about those. I’m sure at some point I’ll get around to talking about albums I loved before this one, but Captiva was really the album that made me fall in love with the artistry and emotion that music could offer. I’d heard a few songs from the band and even this release (their ‘best of’ compellation Discover The Trees Again was the very first album I ever purchased), but nothing prepared me for THIS.
The opening is split across two tracks: with the slow electropop build of “A Guide To Marine Life” yielding directly to the explosive “Hotel Aquarium”, which is one of the most joyfully grateful songs ever recorded. “Goodnight Gravity” follows, allowing both the band and listeners a brief respite from the experimentation with an excellent and straightforward take on mid-2000s pop-punk. Here’s where things get weird. The next run of songs, “Captiva” + “Helicopters” + “Maps” + “How They Made Cameras”, blends progressive song writing with spacey accents, piano-driven CCM chord progressions, and a general disregard for genre traditions without ever even hinting at dissonance. “Drago Or The Dragons” is the last song that must be specifically mentioned musically, blending downtuned guitars with darkly folk hammer dulcimer runs and an extended eurotrance inspired electronic outro. It’s a bizarre track that shouldn’t work nearly as well as it does, especially on a mass marketed Christian release.
The arc of Falling Up’s career lyrically is interesting. Though ranging from direct spiritual confession and worship on their first few albums to cryptic fantasy storylines on their last few releases, this midcareer entry finds the band balancing a theological vulnerability with a desire for poetic and literary exploration, and they aren’t afraid to mix the two. C.S. Lewis would be proud. The aforementioned one-two punch of “A Guide To Marine Life” and “Hotel Aquarium” balances the weight of recognizing sin and surrendering to God with the joy and release that forgiveness and accepting grace brings. The most contemplative track, “Good Morning Planetarium”, explores the parable of the lost sheep with wondering awe, before shifting into the final four tracks of the album which provide soundtracks to the fantasy writings of frontman Jessy Ribordy. “Arch To Achtilles” and “The Dark Side Of Indoor Track Meets” in particular seem to be precursors to his future audio novella (and accompanying Falling Up album) Hours.
In high school, I bought close to 15 copies of this album off Mardel’s clearance rack to give to friends. My mom knows it from the opening notes because of how many times I played it in her car. In college I bought a copy for a friend to give to her brother for his birthday when she asked me for gift suggestions. I cannot overstate my love for this album or how many times I listened and shared it. If I can credit a particular album for my love of music, this is it.
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