My Morning Jacket: New Album & Tour

The Louisville, KY band My Morning Jacket will be releasing a new album, Evil Urges, on June 10th with a supporting tour to follow.
MMJ has dramatically evolved since their 1999 debut The Tennessee Fire (which was recorded in a grain silo, by the way). At Dawn, their second, was more melodic but just as introspective and moody. Their third album, It Still Moves, expanded the sound and scope of the band and was their best effort up to that point.

For 2005's "Z" they pretty much buried their southern fried tendencies and released what I considered one of the very best albums of that year. Think Neil Young fronting the Flaming Lips in a canyon on Mars and you've got a pretty good idea of what this amazing album sounds like.

Intended as a stop-gap, the live double disc set "OKONOKOS" received lots of great press due to it's amazing sound and unique interpretations of their studio recordings. Plus it really showcased the band's instrumental chops with absolutly stunning versions of Mahgeetah, Dondante and Off The Record, along with many others.

The new album, in stores June 10th, is supposed to take the musical concepts of "Z" even further into space, with funk, psych, jam and pure rock 'n' roll being represented. Early reviews are positive.

FROM BILLBOARD:
"My Morning Jacket throws fans another sonic curveball on its new studio album, "Evil Urges," due June 10 via ATO. The 14-track set sports the most adventurous music of the Kentucky-bred rock act's career, beginning with the title track, a falsetto-driven groove-fest that opens the disc.

MMJ is uncharted territory with songs like "Highly Suspicious," whose robotic funk beats and falsetto singing wouldn't sound out of place on a Rick James or Prince album.

Strident rockers like "Touch Me I'm Going To Scream Part 1" boast unusual touches, from fluttering synth lines and multi-tracked vocal parts to chopped-up beats and electro effects on the bass and guitars. Appearing near the end of the disc, "Part 2" of the track is an eight-minute-plus mash-up of disco drumming and grandiose production unlike MMJ has ever attempted.

Elsewhere, "Thank You Too" conjures a lost soft rock classic from the '70s, as frontman Jim James tenderly croons, "You really saw my naked heart / you really brought out the naked part."

James and his acoustic guitar are also at the forefront of "Librarian," while "Remnants" and "Aluminum Park" will satisfy fans of MMJ's straight-ahead, double-guitar attack."


The best part of this is that they are touring the US first, and will be coming to Berkeley (near San Francisco for all you non-USA readers) which is only a stones throw from where I am. Here's the tour stop locations:

New York, NY Radio City Music Hall (June 20)
Louisville, KY The Great Lawn at Louisville Waterfront Park (August 16)
Kansas City, MO Uptown Theatre (18)
Council Bluffs, IA Stir Cove (19)
Morrison, CO Red Rocks Amphitheater* (21)
Dallas, TX Palladium Ballroom (23)
Austin, TX Stubbs (24)
Atlanta, GA Fox Theatre-Atlanta (27)
Miami, FL The Fillmore Miami Beach the Jackie Gleason Theater (29)
Lake Buena Vista, FL House of Blues- Orlando (30)
Myrtle Beach, SC House of Blues- Myrtle Beach (31)
Charlottesville, VA Charlottesville Pavilion (September 2)
Washington, DC Constitution Hall (3)
Philadelphia, PA Festival Pier Penn’s Landing (5)
Boston, MA Bank of America Pavilion (6)
Berkeley, CA Greek Theatre (19)
Los Angeles, CA Greek Theatre (21)
Tempe, AZ The Marquee (23)
Las Vegas, NV The Joint (24)
San Diego, CA SDSU Open Air Theater (25)
Portland, OR McMenamins Edgefield (27)
Seattle WA McCaw Hall (28)
Minneapolis, MN Orpheum Theatre (October 2)
Milwaukee, WI Riverside Theater (3)
Detroit, MI The Fillmore Detroit (4)
Chicago, IL Chicago Theatre (9,10)