LABEL: GREY MATTERS
RELEASE DATE: OCTOBER 5, 2010

ars of Clay are undeniably legends. Their talent for creating the most incredible listening experiences cannot easily be matched. This kind of flair comes only after years and years of experience. Their multiple Grammy wins only confirm their impeccable record.  Everyone knows about Jars Of Clay. So when they release a new album, it is inevitably going to be a big deal…

Perhaps impossibly so, but The Shelter is a bigger-than-big deal. It is arguably their most ambitious and innovative album to date. With the huge weight of expectation upon their shoulders and the considerable burden of having to live up to the incredibly successful The Love Fall Back To Earth, no one would have thought that Jars of Clay could possibly go ‘all-out’ again … and succeed. Yet they did. Undoubtedly so.

Collaborative creativity can go horribly wrong. If things don’t blend, if the two (or three or four in this case) don’t become one- then as far as the listener is concerned, less is best. But in The Shelter, the risk they took in the ten of eleven tracks which feature not only the guys of Jars of Clay, but a whole host of other talents pays off. Ranging from Leigh Nash to Brandon Heath, most of the quartet’s friends made the party. Burlap to Cashmere, TobyMac and Amy Grant all share vocals with Dan Haseltine. Their contributions are often discrete; it can take a couple of listens to work out who the voice that isn’t Dan’s is… but I enjoy the way each artist adds to, not distracts from, the distinct Jars of Clay flavour.

The overarching theme of the album (all great albums have one) is community. It is truly fitting that the guys brought all their friends together for this one, as this is the perfect manifestation of the lyrics they are all singing about. Inspired by an old Irish proverb “It is in the shelter of each other that the people live”, lyrics in The Shelter constantly calls us on us to reach out to beyond ourselves since we do not walk alone. The opening track “Small Rebellions”, the opening verse states “In our weakness help us see/That alone we’ll never be/Lifting any burdens off our shoulders”.

This album is an incredible worship project. Impressively orchestrated, wonderfully put together and endlessly compelling, whilst it lacks the ‘crash-bang-wow’ factor of other rock/pop albums, it has a soul deeper than most albums I’ve heard in recent years. Exceptional lyrics such as those in “We Will Follow” make each track a delight. I love the message in “Eyes Wide Open”, the powerful refrain of “Draw us in, send us out/Draw us in, pour us out”. I love the beautiful harmonies in the title track “Shelter”. I love that the wording of the last verse of “Out of My Hands” takes my breath away every time – “There’s nothing in the world that I can offer/Nothing in the world that I can stand upon/Apart from you, apart from you”.

Everything about The Shelter is designed to impress. And it delivers on that promise. From start to finish, we’re taken on a unique journey, one that no other album in 2010 takes us through. There are no weak tracks; in fact, a stronger argument is to argue that there are no ‘stand-out’ ones either, because each track is remarkable in its own right. This is as close to a masterpiece as it gets. All we can do now is catch our breath and pray that the follow-up comes soon.