Jars of Clay is a band that refuses to be pigeonholed into a specific sound or genre. They’ve made ten albums in their time as a band, and not a single one of them sounds alike. But never have they released an album that shows off their musical influences so much as The Long Fall Back To Earth. Traces of 80’s synth bands such as The Cure or INXS and even groups as recent as The Killers can be found everywhere throughout the album.
Upon first listen, the album doesn’t offer anything truly exciting for the listener, except for the euphoric instrumental intro “The Long Fall” which bleeds immediately into “Weapons,” and the glorious rush of “Hero.” But upon further listens the songs reveal their individual charms. There’s nothing on this album that’s as passionate as Good Monsters, as wickedly funny as If I Left the Zoo and as deeply moving as Much Afraid.
The album goes beyond normal Christian music “Jesus is my boyfriend” clichés and instead delves deeper into human relationships that any CCM band in recent memory. Tracks like “Closer” and “Don’t Stop” make this hugely apparent. Indeed, the title for the album comes from a line in the song “Safe To Land” (which first appeared on the Closer EP in 2008), which describes a broken relationship and offers the image of a plane waiting to land as a metaphor for grace. It’s a moment of breathtaking and heartbreaking beauty that shows why Jars of Clay is leaps and bounds better than any other CCM band making music today.
Elsewhere on the album, the band explores ideas of finding solace in music (“Headphones”), defense of their right to experiment (“Scenic Route,” the best track on the album), and add a little mentorship in the form of “Boys (Lesson One)”. All in all, the album is less cohesive than any of their other albums. A lot of the time it sounds like the band is playing it too safe, like on “There Might Be A Light” and “Forgive Me,” while at other times they’re taking full advantage of their creativity (“Scenic Route,” “Heart”). It’s useless to say that this album is a new step for Jars of Clay, because every album is a new step for Jars of Clay. And even if this is an average Jars of Clay album, an average Jars of Clay album is better than most other bands best albums.
Exactly.
Either “not one sounds like another” or “not a single one of them sounds like another.”
Dear Joel, I had a chance to meet the folks from Jars of Clay when they performed at the big ticket in Gaylord Mi. 2 years ago. They were spending most of their time playing with their kids at the kids novelty rides or Bball in the artists only area. No egos with them and they were having a great time clowning around in their monster costumes.Good music , good people and nice review. God Bless , Dr. Mike Roscommon
Great thoughts, Joel. . . and you have a strong gift for writing. You should really think about a future in media.
I’ve learned that when I buy a Jars of Clay album, I should pop it in expecting to hear something totally different than their last album. But as you said, I don’t think they’ve ever departed from their alternative rock/folk leanings as far as they do on “Long Fall Back to Earth.” When I first listened to the albums my first question was “when did Jars of Clay become U2?”
“Good Monsters” is, in my mind, one of the best “Christian” albums ever produced and their self-titled album is just a classic. I like “Long Fall” quite a bit, but in the same way that I like Derek Webb’s “The Ringing Bell”–it’s a departure and it’s probably the most accessible, fun thing they’ve ever done. It’s the first Jars’ album that I can see myself rolling down the windows and blasting on a summer day. But, like you said, there are some moments where it lacks the poetry and depth of their previous work (nothing here is equal to “Oh My God” from “Good Monsters”). But then just when I’m feeling a bit resigned, they blast out something like “Two Hands,” “Closer” or “Scenic Route” which blows me away.
Your final sentence perfectly sums it up…it’s not Jars of Clay’s best work. But then again, Jars of Clay is one of the best bands out there right now, so even if it’s not THEIR best, it’s still one of my favorites of the year right now.