Review: My Morning Jacket, "Circuital"

Circuital
My Morning Jacket
05.31.11
ATO Records

Like Led Zeppelin, My Morning Jacket's trump card has always been its sense of atmosphere, a saving grace that makes up for the obscurity of both bands' lyrics, not to mention their wandering muses. And although they sound nothing alike, the similarities don't end there. Zep took Delta blues and fused it with then-modern proto-metallic supergroup majesties, while MMJ took a more modern Americana -- classic rock, specifically the kind of country filtered through Canadians like Neil Young and The Band -- and graft it to indie tropes. The result was the hippest and most authentic jam-band groove tinted with melancholy and an outright rejection of formalism. No wonder they made their bones at the Bonnaroos and the Coachellas.

The irony is that, unlike some other similar groups that shall remain nameless (though their initials are Kings of Leon), MMJ got better as it sold out, landing a major label, ditching the echo, learning to rock out, yes, but all while tightening its focus and yet leaving itself room to breathe. Even the last chapter in this saga, 2006's Evil Urges, caused all its frowny faces from lack of focus, not prowess: every trick they attempted succeeded. But even for the mid-Naughties, the result sounded less like a statement and more like a playlist. Call it their Houses of the Holy.

Happily, My Morning Jacket's "comeback" takes all that into account. Circuital, despite the title, doesn't have the roundness of the classic album they have yet to make. They simply enjoy wandering too much. However, it does consolidate their strengths considerably, impressive for a work that contains two songs originally written for the upcoming Muppets reboot ("Wonderful" and "Outta My System"), an ambient, anthemic, opening trio ("Victory Dance," the title track, and "The Day Is Coming"), the charming "You Wanna Freak Out," which melds McCartney's melodies to XTC's archness, and a sinister and stadium-ready "First Light," which does for the Jacket what Achtung Baby did for U2. Last time out, we got the radio bait "Highly Suspicious," a bad idea drenched in what everyone hoped was irony; this time, "Holdin' On To Black Metal" sports the killer hook, and it sounds like Crazy Horse gone orchestral.

That's a lot of rock history to touch upon in one record, especially when you're making totally new shapes out of such familiar clay. But that's part of the secret behind MMJ's success: they're an updated throwback to the days when music sounded as big as people dreamed. At this point, they have the balls (and the loyal audience) to make their change of moods seem natural. It's still unclear whether Jim James and company can deliver the killing blow, but they come closer than ever on Circuital, close enough to make you want to believe again. Considering how small music and its industry have become, that's also no mean feat.

Graded using the Third Eye Method:

Impact: 82. The whole still doesn't add up completely, but the high points are higher than most anything in the modern rock world. 
Invention: 87. Their influences are mostly arena-ready, but the textures are meant for the headphones in your bedroom.  
Integrity: 85. Jim doesn't have to say anything when it sounds this good.