The 1995 success of “Flood” lifted Jars Of Clay above the double-platinum mark — and also left them with a dilemma. Should they concentrate on pleasing their Christian fan base or forge further into the mainstream? This quandary lies at the heart of 1999’s If I Left The Zoo, an album that addresses their artistic choices in varying ways. On one hand, the group deals with spiritual themes in fairly oblique language in tracks like “Famous Last Words” and “Sad Clown”; on the other, it offers plain-spoken praise for the Savior in “Unforgettable You,” ”River Constantine” and other tunes. Musically, the quartet opts for a baroque-pop sound on a number of songs, adding touches of Beatles-like whimsy to “Goodbye, Goodnight.” Whatever the emphasis, the songs here are smart, self-deprecating and richly melodic, the work of a band refusing to rest on its well-earned laurels. Jars Of Clay may not have left the conventions of Christian rock entirely behind, but it did push against the genre’s boundaries enough to make this an album of subtle surprises and thoughtful faith.