"Oh! This feeling is wonderful! Don't You Ever Turn It Off!"

Imagine a funeral in an old southern town. The entire populous has gathered around the ornate gazebo in the middle of the town square, where a young southern lily, clipped before her time, gazes from her open casket at the mourners. Around her are the family, preacher and a band to play the hymnals. Up to the front of the band walks a lone gentleman in a red Civil War coat, his face painted white to match the deceased. A single acoustic guitar starts to play, and that man begins to sing, “I’m going down to Rose Marie’s…”
That scene if from the Bob Dylan biopic, I’m Not There. That man is My Morning Jacket’s front man, Jim James. A band that loves contradictions, ignore the beautiful sadness of the aforementioned scene, and focus on the brilliant madness that is Evil Urges, My Morning Jacket’s latest release.
All the comparisons that have been flying around about the album being comparable to Radiohead’s Ok Computer and Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot are right on the money. MMJ has taken the best from their two best albums (It Still Moves and Z) and thrown them together to create something immediately recognizable and totally different at the same time.
There is no doubt that James is one of the best singers in rock right now, as he gives evidence of over and over again on Urges (listen to him on “Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. 1” and “Two Halves”). The band is in incredible form – in my opinion, they’re the only band around today in any genre that can pull the gorgeous, melancholy sounds out of the steel guitar like on “Look at You” and then go into straight jam-out southern rock on “Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. 2.” They may be an unconventional lot to look at, but that doesn’t mean a thing: their music is straight from the soul, and that’s what matters.
There’s a mix of influences on the album: you can hear Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Allman Brothers, and Radiohead. Still, I don’t think anybody counted on hearing Prince, ala James on “Highly Suspicious.” His voice is creepy and hilarious at the same time – who could listen to the song and not be curious what “peanut butter pudding surprise” is? – and his cackles and wails will send shivers down your spine.
For my money, the best cut on the album is the quiet, “Librarian.” The acoustic guitar and vocals are amazing together, as they weave a story of a young man who has a crush on the town librarian. The song is full of great lines: “ramble up the stairwell, into the hall of books…/since we got the Interweb these hardly get used,” and is full of the longing that every nerdy guy can relate to.
In a year full of promising new releases, you’re not going to find anything as adventurous or rewarding as Evil Urges. I strongly suggest you let the magical urges of this phenomenal band sweep you away.