Six studio efforts in for Kentucky’s My Morning Jacket and it’s time for frontman Jim James to wheel out the ol’ “back to basics” schtick. A rite of passage for any band past the first flushes of youth, it usually indicates all was not well (or well-received) with their last sonic meisterwerk. Such is the case with My Morning Jacket. Having ridden a wave of critical goodwill over the course of four albums, culminating in the psychedelic, southern fried jam rock of the excellent Z, it all went a little wrong with 2008’s patchy and occasionally bewildering Evil Urges (Prince impersonations and electronica, yep).
Recorded live in a church gymnasium, Circuital should be an effort in rediscovering their former selves. Perhaps James was being a little disingenuous, however, because what he says isn’t what he plays. The early Morning guitar wig-outs are gone, with the singer reining in that typically soaring voice of his. What’s worse, it’s littered with mid-tempo, unimaginative clunkers.
It starts promisingly. ‘Victory Dance’, with its celestial opening strings and airy assuredness sounds like a statement of intent. It floats effortlessly by, into the equally fantastic title track, which is the sound of studio band and live beast coalescing, and sprawls over seven minutes like all southern rock worth its salt should do. Unfortunately, after that opening gambit, momentum is lost. ‘The Day Is Coming’ has some sumptuous harmonies let down by a weak, aimless lead. On tracks such as the mawkish ‘Wonderful’ and slight ‘Outta My System’ the band sound like the kind of Born Again Christians you wouldn’t open the
door to.
Saving graces are ‘Holdin’ On To Black Metal’, a truly wonderful siren of a song, its high choir and scuzzy bass making it just the kind of thing you can imagine Serge Gainsbourg sleazing over the top of, and ‘You Wanna Freak Out’, which is post-Beatles McCartney pop and a pure joy. But it’s not enough to truly ignite what essentially sounds like a warmed-up batch of uninspired sessions. Back to basics? A decent effort, but back to the drawing board.