Discover Top Posts Tagged with #stephen mason

Rise by aiwaysoutside A watercolour

Lee Wagstaff & Stephen Mason - Untitled (3d ceramic print) 2014

#Lee Wagstaff #stephen mason #3d printing #rise berlin

Love is good, even when it’s tough, and when it’s tough, it’s best

STEPHEN MASON, JARS OF CLAY

#stephen mason #jars of clay #lov him #from the good monsters stageit concert #water under the bridge

Silksart 71 2013 " there's things happening in the earth ,fracking cant be one of them, come on people see the light" by aiwaysoutside on Flickr.

#silk painting #stephen mason #silksart #contemporary #abstract #art #silk #expression #fracking #dye #environmental hazard #colours

aiwaysoutside

Section of a large silk painting on Habotai 8 silk using Kniazeff steam fix dyes.

#silk painting #stephen mason #silksart #dupont #abstract #contemporary.

Review of Jars of Clay's new album, "Inland."

(photo by davidbraudphoto)

I've listened to Jars of Clay from the very beginning. I've stuck with them through all of their albums, no matter what I thought of the individual album. When I found out that they'd be recording this one on their own dimes, with Tucker Martine (who produced The Decemberists last two albums), I had a feeling this album would be different. When I was given a sneak peak of the album at a New Years party the guys threw, I immediately had goosebumps, this was so much more than I even thought it would or could be. When I finally got the whole album, listening to it from beginning to end non-stop for weeks end, I was floored. In every way this is the most pure interpretation of the Jars of Clay I know and have known for more than 15 years. This album is best taken in as a whole album, in it's entirety, and digested slowly.

The themes on the album run the gamut from all the things that are relevant to me as an almost 40 year old guy, from family, marriage, work, love, despair, frustrations and hope. The content on this album is not sugar-coated and packaged friendly, it's raw, honest and pure. "All I want is peace like a river, long life of sanity, a love that won't leave too soon. Someone to pull out the splinters, a reckless forgiver, you know I'm talking to you." There is a depth here that is more evident here than it's ever been, and it provides for a listening experience that moves well past a few listens. I've actually had the album for months and I still find myself listening to it all the way through at least once a day, and am actually listening to it as I write this. There's no point that this record has gotten boring or not remarkable in any way. I do believe, and I would not think there's a way that any record of there's could be better than their original self-titled album, but I do believe that the more I think of it, with each repeat listen, this album may very well be their best album yet, and ironically, the album they've been wanting to record for so many years.

There are nuances on this album, small touches that Tucker Martine brought to the table that been overlooked on other albums, and shine brightly on this one. Charlie Lowell's synths and organs are absolutely spot on, whoever played bass really kicked it up a notch (as heard in "Love In Hard Times" which features really nice throbbing bass lines.) Steve Mason and Matt Odmark's electric guitar skills have more than surpassed their acoustic guitar skills, which themselves are as good as anything out there. And there is a beautiful brilliance to songs like "Fall Asleep" which remind me of the most perfect love songs that have been written, with it's crickets chirping at the beginning of the song only adding a picture of this honest recollection of what love was, is and could be. Dan Haseltine's vocals on this track and others, are fragile when they need to be fragile, and strong and direct when they need to be solid. The only song that I don't personally care for is "Pennsylvania", which happens to be more an issue of where it's placed than the song itself. There's really not a bad song on the album, and in a time where most albums are riddled with bad songs like holes in Swiss cheese, this album is a breath of fresh air. I simply can't recommend this album enough.

(In full disclosure: I am friends with said band, was given the album for free, and was not asked for anything from the band other than to enjoy the album. All feedback I've had for the album I gave directly to them, including what I didn't care for. Friends, or not friends, this will likely be my top album of this year, and one of my favorite albums period.)