I apologize for the tardiness of this post, the past couple of weeks I have been dealing with school work, medical issues, and relationships and have found very little time for hobbies. However writing is the best way I know how to escape things, so I have forced myself to sit down and make time and relief some stress. So in honor of my own personal renaissance I will write this review on Falling Up's second album, Dawn Escapes. Falling Up is a band most people would not expect me to like, since well, I hate pop music with a deep passion to such an extent that I would start to believe in capital punishment after listening to a Jonas Brother's or OneRepublic song. However, in Falling Up's case, their songs are emotionally driven, and have some of the most symbolic and inspirational lyrics I have ever heard. In other words, they aren't your average love song about a girl you saw at a party last night. Their songs seem very simple at first, typically with one word titles. Yet when you truly listen and look closely at the lyrics, they take a much deeper, complex meaning. But like most bands, Falling Up has its own Achilles heal. The lead singer (Tom Cox) has not been able to escape the stereotypical pop singers voice, not a good thing to possess in my reviews.Searchlights
Most bands start out with a catchy, upbeat song to open an album, but Falling Up seems to lack this quality in this album. Searchlights is, in my opinion, the worst song on the album, but well, it does have a lot to compete against. The melody of the song is rather unorganized and constantly changing, it's typically fast paced and heavier sounding than most of their songs, yet the vocals don't compliment the volume or beat of it very well. The meaning however is a Falling Up classic. They use a lot of symbolism in their music, and this song is no different. The song is from God's point of view, and how He is looking at someone that refuses to believe in Him. God tells him how "If you want to breathe will you just let me know" and that once he does breathe Him in, he'll never want to go back. The mood isn't existent, something very rare for Falling Up, which is why this song loses a lot of credits for me. Rating-3/5
Exhibition
Exhibition is by far, my favorite Falling Up song. It is masterly crafted in all aspects and is a very comforting song to listen to. The melody starts out very slow, with only a piano, but quickly changes to a classic Falling Up rock sound with an electronic twist. The melody sets up perfectly for the lyrics and compliments the mood and the meaning with perfect eloquence due to its changing of vocal tone and the use of the piano. The meaning is so complex in this song, that even I had a hard time determining it. But in the end, I saw that it is about someone that has been hurt and has been spending a lot of time grieving but wants to move on yet doesn't know how. So the singer tells the person to let go of everything they use to know, and that the blood of Jesus will help heal the pain and get you out of the emotional fog and that "The healing starts the motion floods your hope". The mood is the thing that captured me though. Like most Falling Up songs, it reminds me of the ocean, and more specifically, walking on an empty beach at sunset reflecting on your thoughts and on God. Needless to say this has been a very comforting song for me to listen to the past couple of weeks, and I recommend it to anyone going through pain, especially one that involves a personal relationship. Rating-5/5
Flights
Now we're back to another mediocre song on the album. Flights' melody is much like Searchlights with a strange rock sound that doesn't match well with the lyrics. Even the meaning is similar to Searchlights', being about a person that's alone, and God is telling them that He is everywhere and that he truly is not alone in this world. The mood is also the same as Searchlights' so I don't think I need to describe it again. Rating-3/5
Exit Calypsan (Only In My Dreams)
One thing that always impressed me about Falling Up, was their excellent vocabulary use when it came to song titles. In fact many times, they'll make up words completely, and this song is no different. Exit Calypsan's melody is a typical Falling Up one, slow at first, then moving to a rock sound during the chorus. The meaning behind the song is once again very complex, but from what I can understand it seems to be literally, about a dream the lead singer had, where he was being surrounded by darkness in this strange sort of nightmare. But then God came, and helped him "Exit the fall". However I could be completely wrong about the song's meaning, since it's to complex for even me to understand. The song doesn't really have much of a mood to it, but that may simply be because the lyrics are hard to understand. Rating-4/5
Contact
Now here is one of Falling Up's most dramatic songs. Contact is the perfect blend of mood and melody, even if the lyrics are a bit confusing. The melody of the song is very soft, something you would expect to find on an easy listening album. The piano and the song electric keyboard set a meaningful melody to the song that captures any listener right from the start. The meaning, like I said, is a bit confusing. Like many Falling Up songs, it is written from a first person point of view. And also, like many Falling Up songs, it almost instructs a person to do something. In Contact the song once more seems to be about the lead singer, instructing someone to erase their past life, and to embrace God, because everything in this person's life is causing pain and there seems to be no escape from it. The mood, once more feels like walking on a beach, or going to that place that your more comfortable in. For me, the mood feels like the singer wants you to feel safe in this song, to find comfort in what he's telling you and to forget all your pain because God is always there to help you. Rating-4/5
Moonlight
Now we've reached the single from the song, the one that any person that has ever listened to Falling Up has probably heard. Except with Moonlight, it has an interesting twist to it. The melody of the song is unlike any other on the album. Instead of having soft rock and pop sounds to it, it has very heavy rock and rap ties. This change in melody is a nice touch to the bands style of music, and provides the listener with something other than boring, melodramatic songs. The meaning behind the song is, you guessed it, God. This song also has very strong symbolism in it and many Biblical references to the death of Jesus Christ. From what I can understand, it is once more a song about being at your whits end, and realizing that you cannot go any further without God. This can be illustrated when he sings about how he has reached the shore, referencing that God is the ocean, and that he can't go any further without Him because everything fades away and life does not exist. The mood of the song is something I found very interesting. Instead of the usual sad, yet reflective mood that most Falling Up songs have, this one is almost a warning to people, a warning for everyone to wake up and see God. Rating-4.5/5
Cascades
In terms of the melody and mood, Cascades is probably my least favorite song on the album, but luckily for us, the meaning saved it all. The melody of the song is ever changing from fast, to loud, to just annoying. The mood of the song is non existent since the melody just kind of masks over it. But like I said, the meaning saved it all. The meaning behind the song is like all the others, yet this one somehow struck me as much more powerful. In this song he once more sings from God's point of view, telling a person that he is everywhere and that he is the only thing he needs to know in the world. Rating-3.5/5
Meridians
Sadly, this song is not much different than Cascades. Meridians, once again, lacks much substance when it comes to mood and melody and is exactly the same as the above song. The meaning is not much different either, so I will spare both of us the time of explaining it all over again. Rating-3.5/5
Lights of Reedsport
You might have noticed, that the town of Reedsport was mentioned in the song Exit Calypsan. After doing a little bit of research, I found that Reedsport is a small town in Oregon (the home state of Falling Up). Reedsport is famous for it's nearby sand dunes (this could explain why many Falling Up songs remind me of the ocean). Now as for the song, I find that it could be better, but finally broke the cycle of cliched, over used themes on this album. The song starts out with a nice electronic sound to it that sets the fast paced mood to the song. The meaning behind the song is much more specific in this song. It still is a song about a person turning to God, but the big difference is that here we get clues that this person is contemplating suicide, as is evident in lines like Blaze the night, lift the stake "Cause your world is broken Everything's on the floor Whenever the word is spoken Lonely bed you're awake Falling asleep you're hoping Faith will come through the door" or "When the knife is on the ground If you feel erased When He's in this place Then your life it will be found". The mood however, is still non existent in this song. Rating-4/5
Marathons
Now here is one of my favorite songs on the album. Marathons is a perfect combination of mood, melody, and meaning with lyrics rich in symbolism. It starts out with the fading in of an electronic beat, this beat changes very little throughout the song which I find to be a good quality in this specific case. The meaning of the song is very evident in the opening line, one of my favorite Falling Up lines ever, "Imagine the silence racing the timeless". In this line he talks about life after death, where you either believe nothing happens (the silence) or you believe that you go to heaven (the timeless), and it is stated as a rhetorical question, something that is so obvious you do not need to answer it. In the rest of the song he uses the analogy of sailing on a racing yacht (hence the name of the song), and that they are "sailing past your lies" since they "have the push that comes from the ocean". Or in other words, they are once more using the ocean to symbolize God, and that they are sailing past the lies that this world throws at them. The mood of the song is very uplifting, a song that can get your adrenaline going as if you truly are in a race. Rating-5/5
Fearless
Unfortunately, that was the last of the top quality songs, yet that does not mean all hope is lost. In this song, the melody is a typical slow rock song with very little substance, and rather annoying sounding vocals. The meaning is once more a song comparing God to the ocean. And the mood, is you guessed it, non existent. Rating-3.5/5
Into the Gravity
Most bands never know how to end an album, Falling Up is an exception to this though. This song's melody is something I found very unique. It mixes techno, with piano rock that sets up well for the mood of an album closing song. The meaning is fitting as well, what better way to end an album than one about finding God? As for the mood, I find it very important to close an album with an inspiring one. Very few bands can do this though, in fact Anberlin is probably the only band that truly knows how. But I congratulate Falling Up on their excellent attempt since their mood left me feeling comforted and content with myself, and with God. I do think that they cut the song off on a sudden note though. Rating-4/5
Overall, I feel that if you liked Falling Up's first album, this will be a pleasant surprise to you. And if you like Falling Up's newer stuff, you will like this even more. It is a very comforting album that I enjoy listening to when I am upset or am having a bad day. Overall rating-4/5
