Evil Urges

Performer: My Morning Jacket
Producer: Jim James; Joe Chiccarelli
Distributor: RED Distribution

Notes: Audio Mixer: Michael Brauer. Photographer: Autumn DeWilde. While My Morning Jacket began experimenting outside of its signature alt-country/classic-rock sound on 2005's Z, little could have prepared fans for the stylistic shifts apparent on EVIL URGES. Frontman Jim James channels Prince on the slinky opening title track, and the album branches out in a number of directions from there, with prog-rock angularity ("Touch Me I'm Going to Scream Part 1") and breezy `70s pop ("Sec Walkin'") all added to the mix. On EVIL's biggest curveball, the unabashedly silly "Highly Suspicious," the Kentucky-based group seems to have wandered in Ween territory (not a huge stretch since both acts are neo-jam bands), with James squealing about a "peanut-butter pudding surprise" before a comically terse chorus. Although the blatant absurdity and over-the-top musical detours may dishearten some MMJ diehards, URGES still features moments that evoke the ensemble of old--"I'm Amazed" is a bright Southern-tinged anthem, and "Librarian" is a gentle acoustic ode to the bookish profession. Listeners will undoubtedly debate whether My Morning Jacket's newfound eccentric and eclectic aesthetic is a virtue or a liability, but, regardless, this approach makes for an inarguably bold and adventurous outing.

Rolling Stone (p.81) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "EVIL URGES explodes the bands sound with the same kind of creative leap that Wilco took on YANKEE HOTEL FOXTROT and Radiohead took on KID A." Rolling Stone (p.88) - Ranked #4 in Rolling Stone's 50 Best Albums Of 2008 -- "[EVIL URGES] took My Morning Jacket's pigeonhole-dodging style to wild and crazy new lengths..." Spin (p.103) - 4.5 stars out of 5 -- "James and Broemel conjure the sublime guitar duels of Television....EVIL URGES is easily MMJ's mos accomplished and ambitious record, masterfully sifting through genres." Q (Magazine) (p.108) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[T]heir latest pays tribute to '70s US radio with expertly-crafted homages to country-pop, heartland rock and blue-eyed soul." Blender (Magazine) (p.71) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he catchiest and most perverse thing this band has ever done, adding to the spacey, sensuous art-pop of 2005's Z with the muscular guitar mysticism MMJ bring to their live shows." Clash (magazine) (p.123) - "[I]t's not only an intrepid, cinematic, genre-transcending journey but moreover, a coherent tour de force." Clash (magazine) (p.64) - Ranked #27 in Clash's "The 40 Best Albums of 2008" -- "It's an altogether lovely album, and you don't get much better voices than Jim James' soaring range..."

Kentucky combo My Morning Jacket stands halfway between indie-rock and alt-country, combining twangy, rural sounds with a thick guitar-and-drums onslaught occasionally leavened by soaring neo-shoegazer textures. Singer Jim James's Neil Young-like voice and poetic lyrics ride atop murky, earthy tracks full of portent. The band started to generate a buzz with their second album, AT DAWN, then became rock-mag poster boys with 2003's IT STILL MOVES, and were given a place in the new-millennium rock canon with 2005's critically acclaimed Z.

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