Enter Falling Up. One of the biggest rock acts to hit Christian music in the past few years, these guys have managed to release two solid discs already. Now, however, they take the plunge into the world of the remix. And, with Exit Lights, they look to provide a new look at their music while not screwing up songs that were already great.
Fear not, cynics of the remix. Exit Lights does not disappoint. In fact, it proves to be quite an impressive disc in general, and definitely ends up being one of the best remix discs in quite some time. Tracks like Bittersweet (A Jedi Force), Searchlights (Indoor Soccer) and Exit Calypsan (Into The Ice Cave) take popular Falling Up tracks and manage not to screw them up. That's not to say that the tracks are made "better", per se. However, the fact of the matter is that these tracks could stand alone and have been made this way originally and would still be just as popular. And that is the true art of a remix; To be able to take a track that was already popular and recreate in a way that is completely different yet allows it the potential to be popular by itself.
It also doesn't hurt to bring on a few guest vocal spots either. Solomon Olds, AKA Soul Glow Activator of Family Force 5, appears on Moonlit (Neon Predator). And, right from the start, it is clearly a remix of the Family Force 5 variety. Musically, it seems to fit well with 5's disc, Business Up Front, Party In The Back. But what's truly impressive is that the sounds of Falling Up and Family Force 5 mold so well together on this track. It would be no shock to hear these two artists collaborate again in the future and provide hit music. Falling Up also brings in Trevor McNevan of Thousand Foot Krutch and Troma for guest vocal spots on Fearless (250 And Dark Stars). Again, the results are excellent. And, not shockingly, Rachel Lampa's guest appearance on Exhibition (Epoison) also takes a track and elevates it a little bit more
Overall, Exit Lights is another solid effort from Falling Up. These boys continue to grow and improve their music, and they even manage to put out a disc that not only tops the remix world of recent years, but also manages to provide a quality disc that can compete with the "new" material that has been released this year. Exit Lights is truly impressive.