Customer Reviews:
 The Long Fall Back to Earth January 18, 2010
Jason C. Wilkerson (Green Bay, WI)
After 2006's Good Monsters, this is Jars of Clay's first album of all original material having started their own label, Gray Matters, and releasing their first full length album of Christmas songs also known as Christmas Songs. After writing their last original album, which they wrote based on work with "addicts, failures, lovers, loners, believers, and beggars" according to Dan Haseltine, they felt that they were writing an album from far off, like they were looking at earth from space. As they saw relationships around them falling apart they felt the need to write songs that were less poetic than their previous albums speaking of relationships from the ground level in The Long Fall Back to Earth.
Jars of Clay is my favorite band. Having release their first album in 1994, and becoming one of the few Christian bands to reach mainstream success with the hit single Flood, Jars of Clay is kind of like The Beatles of the Christian scene. Each album sounds different than the next. Their first album is almost completely acoustic using a drum machine to fill in where they didn't have a drum. Since then they've dabbled in British rock, Americana, blue grass, country, rock n' roll, and now new wave. For those of you who choose not to listen to Christian music, Jars of Clay is typically a band that doesn't put their faith at the forefront of their music. Yeah, they write from a Christian perspective, but they choose to write about experiences and life from anyone that chooses to listen. The result, very introspective music that anyone can identify with, Christian or not. With their latest album they leave most of their beliefs behind to approach relationships and life head on with a style of music they've never dabbled in before: new wave.
The result: awesome. Channeling Tears for Fears and The Cult, Jars of Clay creates an album that reaches out to a new audience while not completely alienating their audience. Musically, they choose to experiment with beats and keyboards in a way that they have never done before. The result leads to melodies that will still have you repeating them over and over again like their past music, but will be a little jarring for fans of the band. Personally, it took me a couple listens to really get into the music, but while this isn't my favorite album from the band, I keep finding myself returning to this album over and over again to see what I've missed and enjoying it more with each listen. Here they not only experiment with instrumental choices but also with tempos in songs like "Scenic Route." The result in their experimentations is merely transcendent upon multiple listenings.
Lyrically, I've read many reviewers complaining about the simplicity of Haseltine's lyrical choices. Typically, Haseltine's lyrics are very poetic, but this time the band opted to lyrics that weren't as poetic to focus more on relationships from a personal perspective. One of the main songs that seems to be a culprit in critics minds concerning this album is the song "Two Hands" which features the lyric, "If I had two hands/ Doing the same thing/ Lifted high/ Lifted high." While it sounds simplistic, it can easily symbolize two different things, out of, or in, context the lyrics could easily mean lifting our relationships higher in our mind. In, or out of, context as well this song could speak to lifting God or Jesus Christ up in their lives. As you go on through the album you find further songs that expound on the themes on the album with songs like "Headphones" which is about how we don't always want to hear those things that are wrong in a relationship or life and just want to walk around with headphones on, "Forgive Me" about asking for forgiveness when you realize your not going to get, and "Boys (Lesson One)" which is a song written as a reminder for their, and our, children of the rules of life.
Jars of Clay's new album is an extremely fun listen whether you're just looking for fun or looking for a message, something just a little deeper than you'd normal listen to, or something just fun to listen to. I highly recommend that you check it out if you're a Jars of Clay fan, a fan of indie music, or if you like 80's new wave. It's naturally not going to be for everyone, but check it out, it definitely grows on you!
4.5/5
From the secular side of things December 3, 2009
Bach the Rock (Long Island)
Christian rock, often is not considered "cool". But Jars of Clay always made very "cool" music. Cool, because musically it is so well done, as it is here again. And when they write more metaphorically, as the Jewish reviewer noted, this great music becomes that more accessible. Many songs are then thought provoking at any level. On this outing, there is plenty of variety. Monsters had some variety too. So I give it another thumbs up from the secular side.
 Great cd December 1, 2009
RG (USA)
One of my favorite groups, Jars of Clay, produced a fantastic cd with low beat songs, ideal for all types of venues and situations. Thumbs up.
Jars of Clay, The long trip back to awesome :-) November 23, 2009
RaY RaY Pine (Philly)
This is a reinvigorated Jars of Clay that continue to stay relevant as they embrace shades of the modern indie rock scene (see Death Cab for Cutie) to update their sound. The electronic touches are never too much, as seen on songs like "Headphones" and "Boys (Lesson One)," and while the last three tracks of the album slow the momentum gained with the epic closing of "Scenic Route", it does nothing to detract from the fact this is the most alive record the band has made since The 11th Hour.
A complex and thoughtful celebration of relationships. October 20, 2009
Liolania (Hippyville USA)
I came across Jars of Clay in a very bizarre fashion, in 2003, I had never really heard anything by jars of Clay besides "Un-forgetful You" from "If I Left the Zoo" because it was on the "You Drive Me Crazy" Soundtrack that my best friend owned. Other than they I hadn't heard much of anything about this band and even as my dad played their "From the Studio to the Stage". I never really thought much of it until he invited me to come to their concert which he was photographing. When there my father said he was going to try to get an interview with them so he needed to talk to them prior to the concert to make arrangements, and thought I might be able to come with him backstage.
I got back stage alright and got in a very awkward conversation with Matt Odmark and Chad Lowell while my dad talked to Dan Hasteline. My conversation went something like this "I'm never heard any of your music before..." Matt responded pointing to my carebear shirt "Oh, well we've recorded music for care bear movies." I'm like "Really?" and he insisted yes... Although I know that's not true, I guess he was just trying to figure at what the hell to say to a girl who is backstage with you telling you you don't know who you are. Its funny looking back on indeed. Needless to say, their show was, to this day, the best concert I have been to, even better than when I saw them in 2008, it introduced to me in to the world of Jars of Clay and left me kicking my butt for being such an idiot, this band was amazing!!!!
I have all of their albums and have listened to all of them multiple times, with my favorite so far, still "Good Monsters"; This could change, as I have found, that all of Jars of Clay's albums get better and more listenable the more you listen to them. Just a note, one reviewer on here said this was a pop record, I would wouldn't cite any of Jars albums as a straight-up pop record, and this certainly is not either, unless it was in the same way artist like Peter Gabriel are Pop, it is much more an alternative album much like Tears for Fears and Depeche Mode.
Where to start with "The Long Fall Back to earth." Well, the lead-off single "Two Hands" on one hand is misleading, and on the other hand giving a glimpse in to what the album will hold. The song is a low-key mid-tempo joyful song with the typical Jars relational dichotomies and follows a normal song structure for Jars, but has an underlying synth which I think is a hint to what the album holds. I felt jipped with the single at first, but then realized that there was so much more to the upon repeated listens.
As for the rest of the album, other than "Two Hands" I found little to enjoy for the first few listens, but as I got used to the new progression (not direction) of their music, I found there was much to enjoy in the album and more enjoyment with each listen. Songs such as "Lesson One", "Heaven", "Weapons", "Closer", "Don't Stop" some of the best examples of the blend of traditional alternative with elements of synth, which again is very similar to bands like Depeche Mode and Tears for fears. "Closer is a personal favorite of mine which was originally from the "Closer EP", it is a beautiful tribute to relational intimacy and I would say best represents the albums stylistic ambitions. While other songs are more traditionally instrumented such as "Scenic Route" and "There Might be a Light" show that Jars hasn't abandoned their old sound, but are rather expanding upon it, much like they did in "If I Left the Zoo", "Who We Are Instead", and "Good Monsters".
For me, the only real track that feels out of place is "Hero", its not a bad song, and I tried really hard to like it, but it just misfires and goes a little overboard on its instrumentation and almost drowns out the vocals. I think, this is one song that would benefit from an acoustic rendering because the song itself is full of melody, it just feels buried and slightly labored compared to the tracks that have come before it, but it does include one of my favorite moments on the album, which is when Dan Hasteline sings thew word "Hero", you'll see what I mean.
Overall however, this album is more cohesive in its sound then "Good Monsters" and wins extra points for that. It is a strong effort and proves that after 16yrs as a band, Jars of Clay is one of the few bands who are experimenting and expanding their sound without junking who they are or sounding like blithering idiots or coming off stale like bands such as U2 did after "Achtung Baby". Some might be taken about by the seemingly shift in sound, but Jars just proved that they are band that can be identified, but not always clearly defined.
God Bless ~Amy
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