Ten albums is a long time in rock n’ roll, and My Morning Jacket have been on quite a trip since their birth in Louisville in the early 2000s. There’s been the colourful abandon of critics’ hit Z (2005), the unexpected Prince-meets-Cameo ‘Highly Suspicious’ on 2007’s Evil Urges (2007) and the hazy-guitar powered The Waterfall (2015).
As its title suggests, is seems like the distillation of all that’s come previously – the essence of My Morning Jacket in a 39-minute capsule.
Guided by Springsteen producer Brendan O’Brien, rather than using Jim James’ demos as sketches from which to create songs in the studio, the demos became the cornerstone, with much of James’ original material surviving on the record. This may explain the resonance of is with James’ soulful solo LPs, especially 2013’s Regions Of Light And Sound Of God and 2016’s Eternally Even.
This sharpened process sees My Morning Jacket leap from the speakers with ‘Out In The Open’ – a taut but exuberant ode to life which begins with a single bass drum pulse and picked ukulele before bursting into bloom, James declaring: “the night runs cold/but with the dawn/our world’s aglow”.
As well as gazing at external glory, a dominant theme is the wonder of the ordinary and small, “a ripple in the fabric” as James sings on the buoyant ‘Everyday Magic’ as it bounces over Stonesy riffs and double-time hi-hats.
There’s also fifties doo-wop on ‘I Can Hear Your Love’ and guttural guitar and vocals on the space rock of ‘Squid Ink’, which channels the spirit of the Muppets’ band (The Electric Mayhem), who inhabited Henson Studios where is was made.
Despite the variety, the album’s deliberately honed nature can feel like James and co, known for their epic live sets, are slightly on a leash. There’s still plenty to feast on – and maybe the restraint is the group reading the current times, offering listeners sustenance rather than wild abandon. Either way, is is a welcome and shapely tenth addition to the My Morning Jacket wardrobe.
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