I often times feel sorry for Jars of Clay. They’re a band that is frequently dismissed as a one hit wonder, a here and gone fad of the mid-‘90s. Even those who are aware that the band still writes music and puts out albums regularly will rarely even be tempted to pick up a copy of one of those albums for it requires a stroll over to the dimly lit ‘Christian Music’ section of their local record store. It’s sad really, because the reason people dismiss this band so quickly is in large part due to the label they’ve been given, Christian Contemporary Music. It’s true that if Jars ever really played true to that label there would surely be reason for dismissal, but more than not the band has been delivering interesting, and sometimes downright terrific music over the past 15 years. My fondness for the band, a fondness I often times think is all my own among non-Christian music fans, is a reason why the band’s latest release The Long Fall Back to Earth has disappointed me so dearly.
After a turn of the century run of sub par releases, Jars of Clay seemed as if they found their voice on 2003’s stripped down, roots based Who We Are Instead. The album started a stretch of musical rejuvenation for the band that led into the more ambitious 2006 album Good Monsters. Both albums, and all the music the band released in between the two releases such as the enjoyable Redemption Songs, were outstanding examples of how much more dynamic and enjoyable the band was from the other artists that shared the same genre label as them. Something strange happened to the band on the height of their return to musical acclaim though, they took the wrong path.
To put it quite plainly, The Long Fall Back to Earth is a far cry from the sound I was convinced suited the band best. Long gone are the subdued chords and folksy choruses of Who We Are Instead, in their place are pop songs covered in the glamor of ‘80s style synthesizers. It’s not a big surprise I guess, I heard the band’s Closer EP last year which sampled the interesting and yet somewhat painful electronic feel of the EP’s title track, yet it’s still a bit hard to swallow. Maybe it’s the decidedly ‘80s feel of the whole project, a decade that I would sometimes just rather forget altogether musically, or the cringe worthy songs that I thought Jars had grown out of a long time ago (“Boys (Lesson One)” I’m looking at you), whatever it is The Long Fall Back to Earth is the least satisfying album this Nashville quartet has released in some time.
Then again maybe it’s just me. I’ve found that the amount of backlash among fans actually seems pretty much secluded to me and me alone. But when the closest artist you can think of to compare the band’s new sound to is Snow Patrol with extra synth, you’re heading in the wrong direction. It’s not that Long Fall is a terrible collection of music, frontman Dan Hasseltine has become too affecting of a lead singer to let that happen, I just expected more. Lyrically Hasseltine has taken a step back from political and social matters than dotted his last album and has apparently become extremely infatuated with a member of the opposite sex for the first time in recent memory. Sure Hasseltine still sings about his faith, but rather than singing about broad topics such as foreign relations and health care the words he displays on this disc seem a bit more personal and yet at the same time far less powerful.
The disc does pick up towards the end after a pretty lackluster beginning. The tenth song on the album, “Hero,” is pure arena rock, a page ripped directly from the song book of U2. It mostly abandons the electronic sound in favor of a soaring chorus and crunching guitars on the verses, a method that works better here than on the opening single “Weapons.” “There Might Be A Light” is a poignant acoustic based love song that glides along much more effortlessly than the other slowed down songs on the disc, and “Scenic Route” is an atmospheric gem that has earned the award of being my favorite song on the disc. The album ends with their most impressive use of their new electronic sound. “Heart” is a calm, moving ballad that best combines the band’s electronic musings and acoustic roots.
As much as I keep going back, I just can’t truly enjoy The Long Fall Back to Earth. It’s cohesive, it has its fair share of lush pop songs, and it’s fronted by a burgeoning lead man with a terrifically soulful voice, yet it just doesn’t resonate with me. It’s not just the synth gloss and the overly polished rock tunes that are making me so indifferent to this album, it’s the lack of any real staying power with a majority of the album’s tracks. It’s such a shame too, as it seemed like this band had all the momentum they could have asked for, yet it somehow feels squandered with this effort. My advice to those whose curiosity was piqued by this review (even if only mildly), go check out one of Jars of Clay’s spectacular albums that they released over the last five years and just leave this one be.
"The Long Fall Back to Earth" is on sale April 21, 2009 from Essential.
