Closer sets the stage for Jars of Clay’s ’80s-inspired sound on The Long Fall Back to Earth. The title track channels the upbeat side of the decade with bubbly New Wave synthesizers, while “Safe to Land” taps the era’s love for heart-wrenching ballads awash in dreamy textures. As always, singer Dan Haseltine doesn’t address faith head-on, instead letting it enrich his whole outlook on life: Hear the simple, gospel-kissed hymn “Prisoner of Hope,” and how it echoes U2’s meditative spirituality.