Falling Off the Sky is an album by the dB's, released on June 12, 2012, on Bar/None Records. It is the first album of new material released by the band since 1987.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic73/100
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic
The Boston Globe(favorable)
Robert ChristgauA−
The Guardian
Pitchfork5.7/10

Falling Off the Sky received generally favorable reviews from critics; according to review aggregator website Metacritic, it has a score of 73 out of 100 based on 17 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Among the most favorable reviews was one written by Robert Christgau, who gave the album an A−. In his review, Christgau described the lead track, "That Time Is Gone", as "as rousing as anything in their [Holsapple and Stamey's] book." A more mixed review by Stephen Deusner stated that on the album, the dB's "don't redefine themselves as defiantly as they once did".

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."That Time Is Gone"Peter Holsapple3:32
2."Before We Were Born"Chris Stamey3:48
3."The Wonder of Love"Holsapple3:46
4."Write Back"Will Rigby3:40
5."Far Away and Long Ago"Stamey3:22
6."Send Me Something Real"Stamey4:45
7."World to Cry"Holsapple3:31
8."The Adventures of Albatross and Doggerel"Stamey4:54
9."I Didn't Mean to Say That"Holsapple3:01
10."Collide-oOo-Scope"Stamey5:20
11."She Won't Drive in the Rain Anymore"Holsapple, Kristian Bush5:12
12."Remember (Falling Off the Sky)"Stamey3:10

Personnel

Personnel taken from Falling Off the Sky liner notes.The dB's Peter Holsapple – vocals, guitar; Wurlitzer piano (2); piano, organ (6); percussion (3) Gene Holder – bass guitar Chris Stamey – vocals, guitar; organ (1); percussion (9); tubular bells, cello, double bass (10); string and woodwind arrangements Will Rigby – drums, percussion, vocals; organ solo (4) Additional musicians Mitch Easter – additional guitars (2, 3, 10), guitar solo (12), percussion (10) Charles Cleaver – Wurlitzer piano (2, 8, 10), piano (11) Brannon Bollinger – baritone saxophones (2) Brett Harris – backing vocals (2, 4, 8–11) Al Strong – trumpet (3) Peter Lamb – saxophone (3) Jeff Crawford – backing vocals (4, 8–11) Karen Galvin – violin (4, 5, 8, 10, 11) Kaitlin Wolfberg – violin (4, 5, 8, 10, 11) Josh Starmer – cello (4–6, 8, 10, 11) Gabriel Pelli – violin (6) Laura Thomas – violin (6, 7) Lisa Lachot – flute (6, 8) Emma Nadeau – French Horn (6) Corey Sims – trumpet (8) Dale Baker – percussion (10)Technical personnel The dB's – production Mitch Easter – additional production, mixing (3, 8) Scott Litt – additional production, mixing (1, 9) Ian Schreier – mixing (2, 10, 12) Tim Harper – mixing (11) Chris Stamey – mixing (4–7) Greg Calbi – mastering at Sterling Sound