There’s something unashamedly retro about My Morning Jacket. Not for them the sweat and bluster of The Stooges nor the Queen-meets-AC/DC of The Darkness, however. Theirs is the sweet soulful rock of the American West Coast circa 1970, with all the harmony-laden hits of The Byrds, the epic jamathons of The Grateful Dead and the soaring vocals of Buffalo Springfield – mainman Jim James is particularly reminiscent of Neil Young.
With 12 tracks weighing in at over 70 minutes, they’re not exactly ones for brevity. Indeed, some tracks feel like minor southern country-rock symphonies. Take ‘Dancefloors’, which starts like a mid-paced, laid-back slice of Californian sunshine, but soon mutates into a white funk wig-out, or ‘I Will Sing You Songs’, nine-plus minutes of soaring melody and James’ reedy vocal.
‘One Big Holiday’ isn’t the catchiest song you’re ever likely to hear – in fact, it’s quite discordant – but somehow it works, worming its way into your inner ear with a combination of bluster and sun-bleached guitar. . ‘Run Thru’ is like classic Crazy Horse mixed with Radiohead, and then there’s the honkytonk country rawk of ‘Easy Morning Rebel’ or the Mercury Rev meets alt. country of ‘Steam Engine’.
It Still Moves certainly won’t be to everyone’s tastes. There is an argument that its ragged ’70s stoner rock and slow country is a bit too bloated and overblown in parts and its hippyish sentiments may seem too naïve for many. But it is possessed of a certain floating, lazy charm that celebrates the relaxed and glorifies the laid-back. As James sings on ‘Rollin’ Back’, “Long hours and hard things just bring heart attacks”. I’m sure there’s a lesson in there somewhere.