Description
Who We Are Instead is fifth full-length studio album by the American alternative pop band Jars of Clay, released on Essential Records in November 2003, a division of Brentwood Music. The album was recorded at Sputnik Studios in Franklin, Tennessee; with Mitch Dane, Ron Aniello, and the band producing.
Who We Are Instead is the band’s most acoustic-based album since their first disc. The album features two covers: “Lonely People” originally released by America in 1974 (written by band member Dan Peek), and the 1971 composition “Jesus’ Blood Never Failed Me Yet” by Gavin Bryars. The song “Amazing Grace” is not a cover of the popular hymn, but rather an original song written by the band.
To say that Johnny Cash cut an imposing swath across the American musical landscape during his tenure as a performer is a bit like saying Death Valley tends to be on the warm side. Indeed, with over 50 million albums sold, 100 hit singles, duets with everyone from Ray Charles to Bob Dylan and U2 and a spot in the Country Music Hall of Fame under his belt, Cash is undeniably one of the most influential musical figures of the last half-century. While most alt-pop lovers would probably be hard-pressed to rank him too terribly high on the Jars of Clay sound-alike scale, given Cash’s aforementioned widespread influence, his recent resurgence in popularity among younger listeners and the fact that Nashville is the veritable ground zero point for both the Country and Christian music genres, one could argue that the intersection of the two musical entities was only a matter of time.
Stepping back from the electrified modern rock that filled recent efforts such as If I Left the Zoo and The Eleventh Hour, the Who We Are Instead album marks a return of sorts to the stripped-back folk-pop textures of the Jars collective’s debut release. But, while cuts like «Show You Love» and the sprightly leadoff track, «Sunny Days» tip their hats to the first record’s buoyant, tune-laden acoustic pop/rock, others, such as «Only Alive» and the equally countrified «Amazing Grace», are indicative of the new album’s overarching tendency towards a slower, unmistakably Cash-influenced aesthetic. To be sure, even up-tempo songs like «Trouble Is» and the similarly bluegrass-inclined «Lesser Things» (“Ash to ash and dust to dust/ Steel on steel or rain to rust”) are laden with the tangible sense of loneliness, loss and longing that came to define much of Cash’s most gripping latter-day works.
In fairness, the group’s appropriation of the country and bluegrass formats is still a work in progress. And the quick alternation between sparkling pop and languishing country pieces does tend to take away some of the album’s continuity. That said, the Instead project is home to some of the group’s strongest and most direct lyrical statements to date. And its straight-ahead pop songs are as compelling as anything the foursome has written thus far. While it isn’t as consistently infectious as the debut nor as sublimely poignant as, say, The Eleventh Hour, the new record earns points for its creators by virtue of their willingness to forego the safe, proven formula and walk the proverbial path less taken for the sake of artistic diversification. A most admirable detour, indeed. [Bert Gangl, The Phantom Tollbooth, 12/19/2003]
Having thought the Jars’ previous album ‘Furthermore: From The Studio From The Stage’ a disappointing and disjointed effort, I approached the new album by Christendom’s million sellers with considerable unease. But I was utterly won over. Here the band seem to have discovered a fresh vein of creativity, in the unexpected realm of Eagles-style country rock. In fact, Eagles-sounding wistful harmonies and world weary imagery so dominate ‘Who We Are Instead’ that I can imagine Jars fans who enthused over the move into edgy guitar rock of ‘If I Left The Zoo’ will regard this effort as a major disappointment. All I can say to them or the those looking for another «Flood» million seller is just enjoy the sense of focus and faith that Dan Haseltine has seemingly rediscovered. His writing here is more direct, Jesus-centred and unencumbered with lyrical obscurity than on any previous release, while his vocals are tender and achingly poignant. My absolute favourite is the wistfully lovely «Amazing Grace» (no, not that one), closely followed by the poignant «Lonely People» and their captivating version of «Jesus’ Blood Never Failed Me Yet», that stunning song of luminous faith originally brought to the public’s attention by a tramp recorded on the streets of London and featured by classical man Gavin Bryars. ‘Who We Are Instead’ is an album overflowing with musical intelligence and lyrical sincerity. Primarily self-produced in Jars Of Clay’s own Sputnik Studio, Ron Aniello (Lifehouse, Barenaked Ladies), Ken Coomer (Wilco) and Ben Mize (Counting Crows) all make contributions. But this is no exercise in slick, Pro-Tools over-production, rather a marvellously understated and uncluttered set where the quality of the songs are left to tell their own story unadorned by technical wizardry. I’ve no idea whether the Jars’ move to country-tinged harmony pop will shift million of units. But whether it does or doesn’t, ‘Who We Are Instead’ is a masterwork as far as I’m concerned. [Tony Cummings, Cross Rhythms, January 2004]
> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/who-we-are-instead/269441418)
CD tracklist:
01. Sunny Days – 3:30
02. Amazing Grace – 5:18
03. Lonely People – 2:45
04. Only Alive – 4:04
05. Trouble Is – 3:50
06. Faith Enough – 5:24
07. Show You Love – 3:33
08. Lesser Things – 4:36
09. I’m In The Way – 2:33
10. Jesus’ Blood Never Failed Me Yet – 3:39
11. Jealous Kind – 4:10
12. Sing – 4:11
13. My Heavenly – 3:29
Note: Also issued in a Limited Edition version featuring a second disc. The first disc of this release is the same as the regular release, while the second disc includes two bonus songs (Tonight – 3:40, and Shipwrecked – 2:56) as 128kbps mp3s, behind-the-scenes interviews, self-produced music video for ‘Show You Love’, screensavers, buddy icons, wallpapers, slide show and a ‘create your own fan site’ tool kit. Initially, these limited edition releases came in a dual-case digipak, then they were switched to a regular 2-disc jewel case.
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