by Anna Murphy
Jars of Clay was one of my favorite bands as a tween in the 90s – along with theThe O.C. Supertones, Plumb, and Rebecca St. James of course. (Suffice it to say, Christian rock was my gateway drug to music.) But then I got swept away with the whole Britney meets boy band scene, and kind of left my roots behind.
And although some of those phases were short-lived, Jars of Clay is still very much alive & well – they released their 12th studio album Inland this past summer, and come March 2014 they’ll be re-releasing the album but remixed, and retitled as Inlandia. We’ve got the first track off this album, shaken up by Nashville electro punk band Five Knives, for your streaming pleasure below.
And the song is like a modern memory – it sounds like the Jars of Clay we know and love from their Much Afraid days, but with Dan Haseltine’s voice backdropped by a bit of electro synth. The remix maintains the integrity of the original track, which is likeFleet Foxes meets Mumford & Sons complete with a soaring catchy chorus with a singsong hook. But then add to it flickering digital notes and buzzy buildup that could easily be found in a discotheque, and we’re experiencing the definition of “juxtaposition."
Dubstepping from the first mini drop at :53 there’s a repeated rap in the chorus, and an increase in intensity until the end of the song. During the last minute, the best of both worlds collide – electric sound overlaying an acoustic groundwork. It’s the perfect storm and we’re overjoyed to have front seats to the auditory show.
Stream the track below and be sure to check out the other remixes off Inlandia when it drops in March.
