My Morning Jacket has enjoyed that rare arc of musical success; the gradual kind. Over five years the band released three records, each building on their distinctive blend of classic rock guitar work outs, fireside ballads, reverb psychedelia, and Jim James inimitable voice. Likewise, their following grew steadily and they really broke through to greater fandom with It Still Moves their opus recorded on a Kentucky farm.
When almost half the band (guitarist Johnny Quaid, and keyboardist Danny Cash) resigned in 2004, it seemed the bands steady rise may have finally stuttered. My Morning Jacket responded with Z, an album that managed to retain their hard earned identity while stepping in to new electronic, reggae and R&B territory. Jim James stepped out from his curtain of reverb and revealed a still delightful voice.
Fans can only assume Evil Urges will only be another step in a meteoric career. Unfortunately, it is the bands first misstep and a clumsy one.
Opening with the title track the record holds a newfound sense of glossy sheen. A funky drum beat locks in with restrained guitar chiming and Jim James starts his melody in the rafters. It’s not a complete shocker, Z had a sexual falsetto on its opening track, but this is a full on display of un-ironic booty shaking. James consoles us not to be ashamed of our more sinful compulsions like a bearded Prince (or artist formerly known as). One can tell the band is biting off a lot, and god damn if they don’t almost completely own it. But, its all down hill from here.
“Highly Suspicious” is the biggest glutton for punishment on the entire album. No doubt a shot at a summertime fun anthem, it hits like a day-glow piece of eighties funk-rock. James squeaks away “so high” (so terribly high) and the band retorts in a demonic bark “highly suspicious of you.” This breed of goofiness might look okay on Ween or Mr. Bungle, but the laughs seem a little embarrassing for MMJ.
Tracks like “I’m Amazed” are an assurance that rocking is still on the agenda, but feel more like REO Speedwagon recycles than guitar-riff fireworks. The band’s accomplished hush on ballads is of little use here either. ”Librarian” is an outright fantasy of cliched bookworm sexuality crooned over serious acoustic moodiness. Jim James gentle dose of Nashville Skyline era Dylan/Kermit the Frog, gets pumped up to the level of self parody on the high-fructose yacht rocker “Sec Walkin.” The stylistic explorations are welcome, but they often feel empty.
The standout tracks “Aluminum Park” and “Remnants” should keep the bands live standard of barn burners going. But, it is disappointing that their most typical tracks are the finest, in an album that seems like a well-produced pastiche of meager, stylized impressions.
Credit must be given to the band as their arrangements are for the most part, as nuanced and graceful as any of their better work. Patrick Hallahan confidently drums out whatever funk button James wants to push and guitarist Carl Broemel can add dimension to some pretty thin concepts. It seems the source material- if not James himself- is where Evil Urges feels awkward and contrived.
The band ties it up with a reprise of one of the albums better tracks “Touch Me I’m Going to Scream”. The track opens with synths in a moment that sounds like Kraftwerk worship and keeps building with a promising tension. It then launches into a faux Depeche Mode disco drum beat that falls flat. Maybe all of these awkward strokes are the band’s real evil urges (disco beats, Prince worship, yacht rock). Still, the boys are an ostensibly talented bunch that have already proven their longevity. Better things may be on the horizon.
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