Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Jars of Clay - Good Monsters (2006)

Artist: Jars of Clay
Album: Good Monsters
Format: Audio CD
Bitrate: 192 kbps

Track Listing:
01. Work
02. Dead Man (Carry Me)
03. All My Tears
04. Even Angels Cry
05. There Is A River
06. Good Monsters
07. Oh My God
08. Surprise
09. Take Me Higher
10. Mirrors & Smoke
11. Light Gives Heat
12. Water Under The Bridge

Album reviews

Jars of Clay have seen the world. They have seen poverty, they have seen oppression, they have seen injustice, and they have seen humans literally killing each other. They have joined the fight against these things, but more specifically, they have joined the call to bring Christians out of their comfortable complacency in order to join God in what he is doing with this hurting world.

So when Jars of Clay produces a prophetic album, they have earned that voice.

When Jars of Clay wrestle with God, I believe them. It sounds like my story. It sounds like the story so many humans have lived. They have this sinking suspicion that there is a God, but he has been lost in the pain of this world.

Good Monsters is full of powerful metaphors, honest questions, and the best music Jars of Clay has ever written. Yes, it is the best album in the band’s long and impressive career!

The opening track ‘Work’ clues the listener in to the fact that this is a much different album for Jars of Clay. It is a much harder sound, and it has this strange sound that you feel like you have heard before, but in fact you have not. Matching the music’s creativity is front man Dan Haseltine’s writing. “I have no fear of drowning/It’s the breathing that’s taking all this work.” ‘Work’ is ultimately about someone who finds faith in God inevitable, but at the same time that does not answer all questions. There are still issues with this world, and although you get the sense that Haseltine would never walk away from his faith, having faith is so much harder than it should be.

The second track, ‘Dead Man,’ puts the focus back onto humanity. Sure, having faith is extremely hard, but where is the problem? Is the problem that God is not fixing the world? Or perhaps the problem is us, humanity, that we are so pleased with our sin.

‘All My Tears’ is actually an early 90’s song, not written by Jars of Clay. But their rendition is worth a listen, and is a perfect follow to ‘Dead Man’ and ‘Work.’ Regardless of the questions and the failures, there is hope in this life and beyond. “Gold and silver blind the eye/Temporary riches lie/Come and eat from Heaven’s store/Come and drink and thirst no more.” This is not just a promise for heaven, this is a reality in the now.

‘Even Angels Cry’ is a further commentary on the pain in this world. But there is hope, “I saw a woman with ribbons in her hair/Old and lonely, so beautiful I had to stop and stare/The well will not run dry.” God is working. Don’t give up hope, not yet.

“Mirrors and Smoke” is a musically stretching song for Jars, but they pull it off masterfully. Leigh Nash, from Six Pence None the Richer, joins Haseltine on this song, and it is a perfect fit. “I’m feeling older than my years/I’m feeling pain inside my chest/It’s love that keeps me silent/It’s my silence you detest.” Haseltine shows us that it’s too easy and comfortable to leave all the injustices left unchecked in this world. After all, the Church has remained largely silent through many of the injustices in the world.

Who can blame them? Can we really make a difference? After all, “Rivers flow into the oceans/And oceans never fill.” But Nash’s comforting voice reminds us, “Rivers never fill the oceans/But oceans always feel/The waters reaching deep inside them/I guess they always will.”

This song is among the best writing Haseltine has ever done, with a running metaphor of a relationship between someone and God. It sounds more like a love story, at the heart, Nash’s voice providing answers to Haseltine’s questions. Our faith can leave us broken because we want so much more for our lives. Through all of that, God is calling us to a trusting relationship, and most importantly to partner with Him in this world.

‘Oh My God,’ is both the strongest track and a perfect summary of this album. Pain surrounds, but there is only one being worth calling out to, God. Everyone has called out to this being, and Haseltine provides a long list, from thieves to mothers to warriors, they all say, Oh my God. What is a person to do? “Oh, my God, can I complain?/You take away my firm belief/And graft my soul upon Your grief.” God wants us to hurt with others, because in that, we provide the community and the comfort that God wants. That we can cry out together, ‘Oh my God,’ and He will answer.

Jars of Clay issues a prophetic call to the Church, but a great comfort for those who are not in the Church. There is a God who cares, a God who listens, and a God who is waiting to act, if only people would join him.

Review from Hollywoodjesus.com

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