My Morning Jacket
Is
ATO
My Morning Jacket is refreshingly upbeat and even lovestruck on their strangely titled tenth album, Is. The Louisville indie-jam band led by Jim James finds their groove again after strolling into psychedelic electronic-festival rock in the early 2010s, alt-country throughout the rest of that decade, and an indecisive in-between space on their 2021 self-titled album. This is the most cohesive version of their glossy amalgamation of ’70s pop, country, and rock we’ve heard from the outfit since their classic early run ending after 2005’s Z.
My Morning Jacket is going hard on soft rock these days, and most of the time it’s a good fit when they lock into a groove and avoid jam-bad overindulgence. For Is, they brought in three-time GRAMMY-winning producer Brendan O’Brien to keep their groove train on the rails. Before stepping into the studio, the band got together for two separate writing and recording sessions and collected over a hundred demos of potential tracks for Is (even a lost Z demo, “Half a Lifetime,” was brought to these sessions and ultimately reimagined for the record). That extra work and selectiveness paid off. Keyboardist Bo Koster and vocalist/guitarist James immediately lock into their first hook on sprawling album opener “Out in the Open.” Eventually, bassist Tom Blankenship, guitarist Carl Broemel, and drummer Patrick Hallahan join their wavelength in a relaxed way, as the simplicity of the album title begins to make sense during these moments of cohesion.
Across the album, My Morning Jacket deal with each song on its own terms: “Everyday Magic” and “I Can Hear Your Love” strut along as pure ’70s pop-rock sunshine, while lead single “Time Waited” reads like a pop-country wedding track from that same era. What makes this latter track unique and sidesteps pastiche is that dream-like piano sample from pedal-steel virtuoso Buddy Emmons’ lost classic Emmons Guitar Inc., which cascades over the lovely guitar work (electric and 12-string acoustic) from James and Broemel. It’s a love song with some legs.
Easygoing rock vibes and hummable choruses return for “Beginning From the Ending” and “Lemme Know,” before “Squid Ink” goes all funky and proggy on us. The album terminus “River Road” rolls out as a moody and open-ended question, and My Morning Jacket thankfully don’t answer it. Self-editing finally wins the day after over 25 years of rocking.
