My Morning Jacket: Evil Urges

Z was a polarizing album for My Morning Jacket fans. A left turn from the expansive and indulgent It Still Moves, Z was concise, accessible, largely free of noodling, and more playful—not to mention the reggae influence. It seemed to baffle and irritate a segment of the band’s jammier fans. Me? I thought it sounded like a rebirth. It reconfirmed my faith in a band I was ready to write off once it seemed like they were content to be a jam-rock band. (Sorry, I think It Still Moves is a chore.) Z’s risk-taking paid off, and My Morning Jacket surprised me by making the best album of their career thus far.

Enter Evil Urges. Again the polarizing reviews. Again the baffled fans. All of it had me excited all over again. If Z was a reboot, then my anticipation for Evil Urges mirrored the way I looked forward to At Dawn after the outstanding debut, The Tennessee Fire. And like my reception to At Dawn, I feel with Evil Urges like I’m listening to a band that is growing, is enjoying their growth—but is also stumbling along the way.

The album gets off to a fantastic start. Both the title track and “Touch Me I’m Going to Scream, Part I” continue the trend of the band pushing its own envelope. The opener is all falsetto vocals over rhythms that again have a vague island feel, before breaking into a guitar freakout in the last third. The gorgeous “Touch Me” follows with propulsive, dancelike rhythms—“part II,” which closes the album, is an outright dance track—belying MMJ’s ongoing ambition to transcend whatever category you might think to put them in. It might be the highlight of the album. Two tracks in, Evil Urges is shaping up to be the best album MMJ has ever done.

Then “Highly Suspicious” comes in and fucks everything up.

Like a bad Faith No More parody, “Highly Suspicious” sounds like a novelty song that might’ve been funny if I were listening to Green Jello or, for that matter, Faith No More. But the electro rhythm section, the clownish falsettos—it’s an insult to Prince to say Jim James is aping Prince; and it’s an insult to the quality of the vocals on “Evil Urges,” too—not to mention the unforgivable lame chorus, make this the worst song MMJ have ever put to tape. It nearly derails the entire album.

Thank god we live in the age of iTunes, where fixing this album is as simple as deleting the track from the library, so that the lush “Touch Me” segues perfectly into the perfectly crafted “I’m Amazed,” with its sing-along verses, guitar hooks, and bluesy solo. For fans that like MMJ most when they embrace their southern rock roots, this is the jam of the year.

The song feels like a single, like a real attempt to capture an even bigger fanbase than they’ve already got. Nothing wrong with that—but from here on Evil Urges starts to feel like every song is making the same grab. The treacly “Thank You Too!” is a sap-filled attempt to get on every wedding DJ’s permanent playlist; “Sec Walkin’” has a nice pedal steel but is sabotaged by its early-90s keyboards and syrupy strings, while it and “Two  Halves” both feature garish backing vocals. For pretty much the whole second half of the record, James seems to lose the plot altogether as he gets muddled up with hack pop structures and clumsy lyrics (did he really say "interweb" and “Karen of the Carpenters” in “The Librarian”?).

Most criticisms I see of this album seem to fault the band for all its left turns—the falsetto, the less–southern rockin’ moments. That’s really a critique of the first few songs (and the closer), ignoring the rest. (What fan of MMJ’s more traditional sound isn’t happy with the heartfelt ballad “Look at You,” one of the few high points of the album’s second half?). My problem with this album has a lot more to do with the risks they don’t take. James is at his best when he pushes the boundaries of his songcraft—“Wordless Chorus” and “Off the Record” on Z, the first few tracks here—or when he pours his aching heart into his lyrics and delivery—all of The Tennessee Fire and the best bits of At Dawn and It Still Moves. But for most Evil Urges, MMJ seem to be making an anachronistic radio-ready record. All clearly telegraphed verses, choruses, breakdowns, and neatly fitted guitar solos. If only radio mattered any more, and if only there were a station that actually wanted contemporary southern rock, My Morning Jacket would be ready for their close-up. It’s strange that this album is getting slagged in some quarters for sounding so different, when in fact only four of the thirteen tracks really push any boundaries. The rest is sadly generic and ultimately disappointing after such a strong start. There’s enough here—about half the tracks—to make the album worthwhile for most fans, and I still feel optimistic about MMJ’s overall trajectory. They are still capable of surprising me, and I make no guesses about there they’ll go next.

• My Morning Jacket, Touch Me I'm Going to Scream, pt. 1

Comments

[tangledeye]

Great review and summary of the band's career trajectory! Keep up the good work! I'm off to listen to music of a different sort- Kraftwerk's Computer World and Autobahn.

I'm afraid it looks like I won't make it to Los Angeles. We're going to Alaska instead.

[scott pgwp]

Alaska!?! Have fun! I didn't know you were planning (even tentatively) an LA trip, but too bad we won't see you nonetheless. Thanks for the postcard a few months back, by the way. I owe you an email.

[heavyd]

you clearly weren't at bonnaroo [or went deaf for part of the show]. highly suspicious ripped and brought the energy to a whole new level.