"Hotel Aquarium" by Falling Up, Saturday, June 19, 2021

In 2007, Falling Up released their third studio record, Captiva, returning to the production of Aaron Sprinkle. Unlike their debut album Crashings, also recorded with Sprinkle, on Captiva, Sprinkle plays the role as songwriter alongside lead singer Jessy Ribordy. Captiva also marked the end of four years of a daunting release schedule. Their debut album and follow-up Dawn Escapes were released within just 20 months of each other. They then released their remix album, Exit Lights a year later. Captiva attempted to keep hype in the Christian Rock and pop market, releasing four singles, the first of which is today's song, "Hotel Aquarium."

ALL THE LONELINESS IS FILLED BY YOU INSIDE. In April, I wrote about the band's first hit, "Broken Heart." By the band's third album, musicians started shuffling to other, more successful, more overtly Christian bands. Falling Up's lyrics started mentioning Greek gods and space. Frankly, Ribordy's lyrics sounded more like an acid trip and less like a church service. And while some bands have eased into the secular market and are beloved by CEO Brandon Ebel, Aaron Sprinkle, and their scene, Captiva shows a major decline in the band's popularity. On their previous albums, they collaborated with many artists including Jon Micah Sumrall (Kutless), Ryan Clark (Demon Hunter), Solomon Olds (Family Force 5), Trevor McNevan (Thousand Foot Krutch), and even CCM singer Rachel Lampa; however, after Captiva, the band started working with Casey Crescenzo (The Dear Hunter) to produce low-key indie rock. I've always wondered what was the drastic switch? And more importantly, why is no one talking about Falling Up? Tooth & Nail and BEC have seemingly forgotten them and they have only been mentioned in passing on the Labeled podcast.
 

IS THIS ANOTHER COMPLICATION I FACE? I have a theory about this album. I can piece it together based on the Jesus Freak Hideout Interview from 2015 and statements made by Aaron Sprinkle I've heard on various podcasts including Labeled and the BadChristian Podcast. Sprinkle has said that he wouldn't name the bands that he didn't enjoy working with, but he said that he didn't like working with bands who came to the studio unprepared. While Crashings is perhaps one of Sprinkle's most underrated works, Captiva sounds more like a chore. Looking at the writing credits and how musicians had left the band, I wonder if Falling Up was one of the bands Sprinkle was talking about. Captiva isn't an album that I go back to listen to and feel much nostalgia for. In 2007 there were much better releases on Tooth & Nail. And while other groups have ventured into fantasy lyrics (i.e. Copeland), fans and other bands in Falling Up's scene started to distance themselves from the band. My guess is that something happened during the production and/or the album cycle of this record that alienated Falling Up from the Christian Rock and Christian Rock adjacent scene. According to Ribordy, BEC stopped communicating with the band after they recorded their fourth record Fangs! The record label never dropped them, but they were reluctant to fund their fifth record. And there wasn't an offer for the band to join the much more secular-friendly Tooth & Nail side of the corporation. Ribordy also mentioned that he is working on a semi-autobiographical fictional novel in which he will talk about his experience with the music industry. However, he is yet to finish the novel. I only hope that whatever happened, someday Falling Up's story can be told. It's a shame that a band with 3 number one hits from their first album is almost completely forgotten by everyone except for Jesus Freak Hideout. But then again, there's Jennifer Knapp and Ray Boltz.

Read the lyrics on Genius.