Jars of Clay – The Long Fall Back To Earth

Jars of Clay are one of those Christian rock bands that music critics point to as an exception to the rule that Christian rock is ontologically evil. In the late 1990s, it was King’s X; In the late 2010s, it was Kings Kaleidoscope. The Long Fall Back To Earth isn’t so much Christian rock as it is Christian pop. Jars of Clay are doing their best Flaming Lips impression, and it works surprisingly well – but it’s not that distinct from everybody else who was doing that in 2009. Even after listening to this album a lot, I have a nagging feeling like I know what their other influences are, but I can’t name them. Worse, I still feel like I don’t know what Jars of Clay brings to the table other than the late-00s vibes.

Records like this try to frontload with the big hits, and while “Weapons” and “Heaven” are glittering pop songs with emphatic, jesus-y choruses, they don't touch my soul like they desperately want to. They’re whatever. The album does get better around track five. “Safe to Land” is a low-key, post-u2-indie-pop-folk thing with a title drop that I enjoy. “Headphones” is an excellent breakup song that honestly gives me Go by Jonsi vibes. “Don’t Stop” is their Killers repro that’s actually better than the Killers’ output around this time. The last third of the record is a bit of a blur to be honest, but at least the place that normally sags on records like this is well-reinforced with The Long Fall Back to Earth’s best songs.

The graphic design is super 2009, “real men wear pink” mixed with pseudo-Matrix fonts and dramatic black and white photography. I do like the way that the verses and choruses are put together on the lyric booklet with single slashes for lines and double slashes for sections. This is the epitome of an album that does what it aims to do, but what it aims to do is something I really don’t care for. If I lost this album, I would not try to find another copy. Well executed, some good songs, but the total package is not for me.

The Long Fall Back To Earth by Jars of Clay is a good album, but I don’t like it.