My Morning Jacket – Z
Alternative – Released October 4, 2005 – 10 songs, 47 mins
REID’s album drop:
This is a band I’ve known for a while but always forgot to give them a sensible listen. So going to use my album choice on one I’ve been meaning to circle back to.
REID
I sat on my couch on Wednesday evening narrowing down options for my first album selection when an old pal, Andre Marshall, came to mind. Andre and I met on an engineering internship in Goose Bay and ended up working eight months together between there and Churchill Falls. He’ll always primarily be ‘the guy that REALLY got me into Pearl Jam’ but we spent so much time discussing and listening to music working 12-hour days in the ‘Big Land’. He spoke often of My Morning Jacket but I just didn’t get into them at the time and completely forgot about them… until that night.
Z starts off beautifully with Wordless Chorus. A groovy jam that really gets me going and sets the tone for the album. My initial thoughts were ‘how could you listen to this and NOT want to continue?’ and that’s what a great album opener should do. It Beats for You is such an incredible track. The drums are so sick, vocals fit just right and I love me a well-placed whistle. Both songs challenged as my favourite but ultimately fell short. Gideon is an interesting song with a slower pace followed by the short and catchy What a Wonderful Man, leading to what I believe to be the album’s climax; Off the Record. Man, what’s not to love about this one? Sweet riff, ‘stadium-chant’ worthy chorus and a super funky finish. Things mellow out with Into the Woods. The organ gives me a ‘live sports’ feel. Anytime and Lay Low are two more great songs that elevate the album mood again. Knot Comes Loose and Dondante round out the album, both on the slower side of things but do a great job displaying MMJ’s diverse style.
I had never listened to Z before that Wednesday evening and I’m pumped I chose it because I love it. Every album has high and low points for the listener but even my less favourite tracks on this one just belong. My Morning Jacket’s style is right up my alley. I’ll continue listening to this one and will be digging deeper into their discography.
Rating – 8.5/10
Favourite Song – Off the Record
ROZ
Wordless Chorus starting off with a nice mellow beat, really enjoy that harmonized chorus. Nothing to write home about, but I really dig the chill vibes on this one. Reminds me of the best parts of a chill summer day. Next up is It Beats for You, and now I'm starting to realize that this guy's voice is realllll good - mind you, this is the first time I've listened to this band! From a production standpoint, I really enjoy what these guys are doing. The vocals and guitar are drenched in reverb and also the more I listen, the more of a Thom Yorke feeling I'm getting from this (I wonder if it's just me?). Interested to see where this album goes next.
Gideon starts and it solidifies my understanding of this bands (or at least this album in particular) signature sound and timbre. Man this guy has a set of pipes on him, and I really love the effects on this vocal. I'm feeling inspiration from U2 on this track but maybe it's just me connecting my own dots. What a Wonderful Man starts up and honestly I just don't find anything special about it, nothing to comment on at least. Off the Record catches my attention a lot more - the lyrics are catchy and the guitar is killer, I really enjoyed this one. Into the Woods starts up and now babies are in blenders (complete with sound effects). I feel like I'm in a strange dilapidated carnival and I do not like it. Please get me off of this ride and give me my money back.
Anytime swung the pendulum back to the other side thankfully, as I really enjoyed this one. I think this is my favorite one so far, really dig every element and how they come together. Lay Low comes right behind it with a slower tempo but great sound. Enjoyed these back to back jams, and hoping now that the album finishes strong. Knot Comes Loose continues to slow it down, however it doesn't resonate with me as much as the former had done. That surfer "twang" on the guitar is definitely an interesting and pleasing sound.
Finally, Dondante ends the show and boy does it ever do that. I'm getting more Thom vibes as this guy belts out some real satisfying sounds. Really enjoyed the burst of energy to finish it off. Thoroughly enjoyed this.
Overall, I felt that this album had its strong tracks and it's weak tracks. I'll definitely be giving it another listen (or three), and will make sure to check out the rest of the discography from these guys.
Rating – 6.9/10
Favourite Song – Anytime
LUNDI
Well not to give away what will be high praise and rating but THANK YOU REID 🤘🤘🤘
Maybe it’s the constant craving for new music but this album killed it for me. I had never even heard of MMJ before and I was pleasantly surprised. I love the lead singers (Jim Janes) voice and it’s combined perfectly with synthesizers to form some psychedelic rock that is right up my alley. The composition and production of this album is so tight.
There honestly isn’t a low point in the album for me and it clocks in at just over 40 minutes. It manages to keep my attention throughout and it’s the first of our reviews that I had to immediately listen to again.
This one stays in the Spotify library and gets added to the vinyls I want. I’ll also explore their discography but from early reading this appears to be a one off in terms of their sound.
Standout tracks include Gideon and Donedonte but my favourite has to be Off the Record.
Rating – 8.6/10
Favourite Song – Off the Record