REVIEW: Jars of Clay, Much Afraid (Silvertone)
- Lang Whitaker
While many bands struggle to find their own sound even two and three albums into their careers, Jars of Clay's first album coined a sound so distinctive and inventive that it sold more than two million copies. After their self-titled debut release went platinum riding their unique combination of acoustic instruments and percussive whirlwinds, their burgeoning fan base was curious as to how Jars would follow it up. With the sparkling Much Afraid, Jars shows that they don't have anything to be scared of.
After producing their self-titled first album on their own, this time Jars turned over production duties to British producer Stephen Lipson, who had previously worked with Annie Lennox (_Diva, Medusa) and done some re-mix work with Sting. Lipson successfully blended the Jars' sound with a light wash of European lushness that sounds just right. Gone are the hoe-down violins that dominated Jars of Clay, replaced with a thick slice of electric guitars, but surprisingly the songs all retain the old Jars sound.
The first single off Much Afraid is "Crazy Times", a straight-forward rocker with crunching guitars and booming drums. As soon as the electric guitar solo kicks in, you realize that Jars of Clay isn't in Kansas anymore. Unlike anything off of Jars of Clay, both in style and in sheer sonic size, "Crazy Times" details the emotional weight of searching through life for answers that seem harder and harder to find. Rocking along with "Crazy Times" is the song "Overjoyed", where jangly guitars and stacked harmonies harken back to the 60's British invasion.
After "Crazy Times" and "Overjoyed", Jars returns to the same basic sound that they patented on Jars of Clay, with a few subtle expansions. "Truce" begins with an industrial drum loop that eventually transforms into a head-nodding rocker with a chorus more infectious than the monkey in the movie Outbrea". Both "Fade to Grey", which was the first song ever written by the band, and "Truce" resurrect the signature Jars sound, with acoustic guitars bouncing along over drum loops. However, both tracks eventually melt real drums and electric guitars into the mix, bulking up the overall sound of the songs.
Jars also dabble in the pop genre, with great success. "Five Candles (You Were There)", originally written to be played during the closing credits of Jim Carrey's dramatic flop "Liar Liar", is a beautiful little nugget of a tune. It's probably just as well that the song was dropped from the "Liar Liar" soundtrack, because "Five Candles" is better than even Jim Carrey's best spit take - three and a half minutes of pop heaven. "Tea and Sympathy" is another mid-tempo song that further underlines Jars' excellence, surrounding the sweet melody with enough harmonies to shame even Hanson.
Dan Haseltine sings with a self-assured gait. His lyrics and melodies are intelligent and literate, while being simultaneously accessible. The guitar and bass work of Stephen Mason is solid without being overwhelming. Matthew Odmark's acoustic guitars continue to provide the backbone for much of Jars of Clay's music, while Charlie Lowell's keyboard role has been greatly expanded from Jars of Clay to Much Afraid.
There's also a message in the music. As the first band from the normally outdated Contemporary Christian Music genre to totally find cross-over acceptance, Jars don't back down from their convictions at all on Much Afraid. While a few songs deal with everyday issues like friendship and accountability ("Five Candles", "Tea and Sympathy"), every song has some spiritual reference or application to it.
What really sets Jars of Clay apart from the rest of the current field of angst-ridden alterna/electro rock bands is their affability. Up front in their assertation that they themselves are far from perfect, with Much Afraid they occasionally approach perfection.
Jars of Clay's Much Afraid will be released on September 16.
