Just when I don’t think that Jesse Ribordy and Falling Up couldn’t surprise me again, I’m proven wrong as they decide to reimagine ten of their songs on an album aptly titled Reimagined and drop it out of nowhere on their Bandcamp page. What we get is a mixture of fan favorite songs with some deeper cuts that span almost their entire discography. The only albums not represented here are their debut album Crashings, their 2013 album Midnight on Earthship, and their latest album, “The Chilling Alpine Adventure.”
The album begins with “Oceans” off of their 2011 album, Your Sparkling Death Cometh. The harmonies are stripped back to reveal a quieter approach to the song than that of the original. Personally, I prefer the original version, but this is still a solid way to kick off the album. What follows is “In the Woodshop,” from their 2015 self-titled album. The melody mostly remains the same, with just an acoustic guitar replacing the original electric one on the track. This is another where I prefer the original, but the new version is still good.
Next, we come to “Goddess of the Dayspring, am I” off their 2009 concept album, Fangs!. This song goes through one of the biggest changes of any song on this album, with Jessy slowing the tempo down and replacing the electric guitars with acoustic ones again. This allows it to stand on its own, and is equally as good as the original version. Batting cleanup on the album is “A Guide to Marine Life,” from their 2007 album, Captiva — and my personal favorite song on said album — so needless to say, I was excited to see it appear on here, but curious at the same time. Unlike the previous song, this time the tempo was sped up while still replacing the electric guitars with acoustic ones, but it was the addition of a choral sound during the chorus that makes it better than the original, in my opinion.
As we get to the back half of the album, we kick things off with “The Wonder,” also from Your Sparkling Death Cometh, which trades the band setting for an intimate, acoustic approach, almost like Jessy’s sitting around a campfire with just an acoustic guitar and his voice. While good, I still prefer the original. Then we get to “Helicopters,” also from Captiva, which is unique in that its the first song on the album to utilize a piano, which transfers over from the original to the new version. What doesn’t transfer over is the electric guitars and drums that are replaced with strings, which makes it the superior version.
Next we come to “Blue Ruins,” off their 2013 album, Hours, which takes the fast-paced, guitar-heavy song and slows it down with just a piano to accompany it, putting it on par with its predecessor. After that we get “Golden Arrows,” also from Fangs!, which provides us with a haunting, almost whisper-like singing from Jessy set to nothing but a piano. Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite measure up to the original, though.
As we get to the end of the album, we’re treated to “Exit Calypsan,” off their 2005 album, Dawn Escapes. Gone are the electronic elements of the original in favor of a simple piano and drum machine, which don’t quite elevate it to the level of the original. The final reimagined song is “Intro to the Radio Room,” also from Hours. We’re back with acoustic guitars and Jessy’s haunting melodies, although he doesn’t quite reach the range of the chorus of the original.
The final track, “The Narrator,” is an original track for the album. At less than a minute and a half, it’s the shortest track on the album by far, and the only one that reads like a spoken word poem. While interesting, it distracts a bit from the album’s cohesion. All in all, this album was a complete surprise for me in the best way possible. The fact that it is “Volume I” implies future installments, too — and I look forward to seeing which other songs get this kind of treatment.
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Review date: 3/10/26, written by Matthew Spiker for Jesusfreakhideout.com