Eclectic timbres, old-fashioned rock rhythms and a warm recording make up the bar-scene sound of My Morning Jacket's latest release, It Still Moves, due out Sept. 9.
The album is the Kentucky-based band's first release on Dave Matthews' ATO Records, but its third album to date. My Morning Jacket's songwriting maturity is evident and there is rarely an uninspired moment on the album.
The band's long country roots are noticeable in the second track, "Dancefloors," as jangling piano chords set to a rockabilly beat melt into soaring reverberation. The song's climax, which involves horns and a strong dynamic range, confirm the band members are still feeling their craft.
Ultimately, the sound is as roving and unpredictable as a stray dog in the back alley of a fast-food restaurant. The experimentation never comes across as having been forced - each song follows its course very naturally.
"We've created what we do just out of wanting to create," said singer/guitarist Jim James in a news release. "None of us have much musical training to speak of."
Trained or not, the members of My Morning Jacket prove that it isn't the complexity of each player's part that make a good tune, it's how those parts interact. With a fine ear for the feeling generated by effects, the band makes atmosphere as important a player as any in It Still Moves.
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The spacious "I Will Sing You Songs" fronts a trudging drum beat by drummer Patrick Hallahan who always seems to know when to let a song breathe. Eerie vocals make their lonely entrance from behind the sweet melodies of the guitars.
It Still Moves reaches its country-boy-opera pinnacle with the rambling "Easy Morning Rebel."
"He'll be the water if you'll be the wine/sent down from heaven in this earthly disguise/black hearted ruler? I only knew/ that loving moment I had with you," James croons in a nasal whine. The riff does an about face and switches from the sprawling tempo into a deliberate instrumental rock ending.
My Morning Jacket has the unique ability of traveling familiar roads and, at the same time, freely experimenting with form and tonal quality. This allows the players to maintain the so-called artistic validity of "experimental" music, while also not alienating listeners with songs that are difficult to understand emotionally.
Taken as a whole, the booze-soaked and meandering quality of It Still Moves alone is worth the price of the CD. On top of that, listen for great ambiance and interesting formats complemented by solid musicianship from these Louisville boys.
