Having spent its first decade building a loyal following straddling patchouli-scented jam-band fans and Pitchfork-quoting indie-hipsters—an Allman Brothers for the alt-country crowd, or space-rock Wilco fronted by a reedier-voiced Lenny—the Louisville, Ky. quintet My Morning Jacket began to walk the experimental/art-rock tightrope on its last album “Z” (2005), and it was rewarded with its biggest commercial success. Underscoring his desire not to be typecast as, you know, a mix of jam band fan and indie-rock hipster, bandleader Jim James told the New York Times, “I don’t want people to think anything when they hear ‘My Morning Jacket.’ I just want them to think of a question mark.”
Well, a question mark lingers over the group’s fifth studio release, alright, but it isn’t the one James was hoping for. Instead, the query is how the heck the group could have expected to pass off such a sprawling, chaotic and ultimately unsatisfying mess as inspired experimentation or stylistic diversity.
Working with producer Joe Chiccarelli (the White Stripes, the Shins), it’s as if the band was being steered by a GPS set to lead it into the most troublesome terrain imaginable, veering away from the reliable routes of alt-country, folk-rock and dramatic guitar jams, man, in favor of funk grooves, electronic ambient bleeps and blatant, embarrassing Prince tributes. While there are a few echoes of earlier triumphs, notably in the rousing “I’m Amazed,” serious missteps such as the title track, the “Midnight at the Oasis” ’70s AM radio tribute “Thank You Too!” and the unbelievably, unbearably annoying “Highly Suspicious” are so dire, the overall disc never recovers.
The themes of acting impulsively and bravely leaping into the void permeate the proceedings. “If you touch me, well I just think I’ll scream/’Cause it’s been so long, since someone challenged me/And made me think about the way things are/Made me think about the way they could be,” James trills in “Touch Me I’m Going to Scream, Pt. 2.” But sometimes when you leap, you fall, and there is no inherent nobility in experimentation if all the results just fail.
It looks as though you're going to be on the wrong side of history when it comes to Evil Urges, Jim. The Jacket's albums have always been far more spontainious, fractured statements than has been aknowledged by critics, all Evil Urges does is put the crank their sonic blender up a few notches. Admittedly, it is at times a jarring, confusing listen, but ultimately the genuine identity of the group emerges in every song not unlike the three dimensional images buried inside magic eye posters. In effect, I'm saying that repeated listens and a little perspective does wonders for the impact of this record. In my opinion Evil Urges, Librarian, Aluminum Park, and Smokin From Shootin' are new Jacket classics.
Sorry Jim; this album is amazing! 1.5 stars is a joke. Youre a joke.
Wow.. Everyone has their opinion. So to each their own.. BUT.. MY OPINION is that you could not be farther from the truth. Evil Urges is amazing. Maybe if you stopped trying to label them as some type of music or band, you may enjoy what they are trying to do. But it is good when people like you don't like them. Maybe you won't go to their sold out shows and talk during the middle of good songs.... But I bet you will.....
I couldn't agree more. This album is such a downer. I love this band & "Evil Urges" has upset me in a big way.
Here is a link to my review on my tiny little blog:
http://cinematicallycorrect.wordpress.com/2008/06/13/evil-urges-successfully-destroys-85-of-all-cred-my-morning-jacket-has-garnered/
I am never shocked that if I like an album, Jim will undoubtedly crush my love of an album with a negative review. Be it something from Springsteen, the Chili Peppers, a middling review for Pearl Jam's last effort, and now this? I know we have to agree on something, but I guess my tastes are too "commercial" for the all knowing and powerful music press. I do apologize to all hipsters for my love of such bands. I might as well just give up and listen to Daughtry, Leona Lewis and Nickelback. I do not deserve your wisdom.
From the three songs I've heard of this latest effort, I can't see buying this recording. And I have most of their material.
I just don't hear anything unique this time around. Big things were expected, as they basically took last year off to write and record. Ouch !
Umm, did you actually listen to the record or did you just write a bunch of crap and hit post?
Yes, Craig. I bet he will, too.
You were right on the money on this one Jim. All I could think of when I heard "Highly Suspicious" was Flight of the Conchords' "Robots," except I know FOTC meant it as a joke.
Jim DeRo responds: While I respect the passionate defenses, I'm having a hard time believing that any of you will really continue listening to and enjoying "Highly Suspicious," an unmitigated disaster of a song if ever I've heard one, or the completely ineffective Prince tributes such as the title track.
What seems more alarming is that Evil Urges feels like some sort of bizarre fetish album for all the icky stuff Jim James secretly enjoys.
And maybe that's what wrong with it. All this stuff is very much in character for MMJ, this does sound like the type of material that they've resigned to b-sides and outtakes over the years. But it also feels more like the ramblings of a sloppy drunk making everyone uncomfortable then a commited musician trying to write the best songs he can.
I won't argue with your review, opinions are just that, but I do want to take issue with your sentence:
"But sometimes when you leap, you fall, and there is no inherent nobility in experimentation if all the results just fail."
I just can't agree with that. One of the major down sides to experimentation is failing, and it's noble because hey, at least you tried. Look at Pearl Jam - they haven't experimented or tried for years. Should they be considered noble for repeating a nearly 20 year old formula? At least James goes all the way out on that limb. I'd rather everyone brought the idea to writing that they weren't going to stay in the comfort zone. It's noble to fail shooting way too high (or totally in the dark!) than to just make the same Dave Matthews record over and over.
Well, upon reading your response, I guess you're right. I'm never going to listen to "Highly Suspicious" again.
1.5 stars??? is that a joke??
sheesh, you have to be kidding. this is a great album. just saw them last night and the material translates live fantastically. if you are a fan of the band. buy the record. thats why you are a fan. this is the record they wanted to make so buy it. listen to it. you will like it more and more. first listen, i liked it. as i listen to it more, it really grows on you.
Jim, you are a tool.
History will look fondly on this record.
You just don't get it.
Two Halves divides the album with a force of brilliance.
I'm Amazed/Touch Me/Smoking From Shooting. Come on now...That's 3 stars right there!
Highly Suspicious is bizarre, no doubt. It does seem like the band having a good time, though, and thankfully it's very easy to skip (which I shall always do.) Much like the last Wilco album, there is a '70s-retro Wings-esque flow in a lot of the album. It may be old school, but there's some really beautiful songs there. I think you should give it another listen, Jim.
My only other quibble is that the lyrics in "Librarian" feel a little cliched. But its still pretty.
(Oh, and that last Wilco album had "Shake It Off" as its own terrible song. Seems they all have one song you need to skip. Or at least use to take a bathroom break when you seem them live.)
What a LAZY review. The Sun-Times should be embarrassed. To anyone who really relies on this slob for good reviews, please check out this band and this album. You will feel intoxicated and you will be screaming for more from the best band in America!!!!!!!!!
I find Evil Urges very, very satisfying overall.
The album is certainly creating a lot of discussion, with most people either loving it or hating it. This has been true of many albums that later show up in the lists of the all-time greatest (or worst - but I doubt that for Evil Urges).
I think it should be listened to on its own, without necessarily comparing it to the band's past body of work - at least that's how I listened to it because I am a "new" MMJ fan and I really like it. The fact that it includes different styles of songs doesn't bother me at all. Rather, it keeps things interesting.
Very excited to be going to the second show in Chicago at the end of the current tour...
I will admit first off that I'm slightly biased, being as I'm from Kentucky, and I'm very proud of this band. They're Kentucky's most successful rock band at the moment, and so that drives a small part of my support for them.
But besides that, I have consistently enjoyed the experience of listening to My Morning Jacket's music. They are a challenging listen at times, but I always feel rewarded. Evil Urges is no exception.
Undoubtedly this album is going to be judged by "Highly Suspicious". I knew that the minute I heard the song. It's their biggest risk on the album. Even my wife couldn't get over it, despite my pointing out to her that there is something like 13 other songs on the album. Some are vintage My Morning Jacket. Some are different. But to judge the album based on that song just isn't fair. Besides that, I disagree with you. I still pop Evil Urges in from time to time, and I listen to every song, including "Highly Suspicious". I think it's simply the band having a good time. They're not making a dramatic statement or trying to change the world. "Peanut butter pudding surprise" and maniacal laughter I though would be enough to make it obvious that it was a tongue-in-cheek goof-off song.
All that being said, "I'm Amazed", "Aluminum Park", "Two Halves", and "Smokin' from Shootin'" are going to be remembered as classics.
And finally, who gets to decide what "failing" means? To say that all their experiments have failed is like saying Pearl Jam (another of my favorite bands and a "big brother band" to MMJ) has failed because you didn't like their last album. It's like saying that someone who cured a disease, but can't cure everybody has failed. Do some people still get something out of listening to MMJ, even their experimental side? I certainly do, and there are plenty of people who agree with me. Even your unbelievably unfair review was unable to come up with more than 3 out of the 14 songs to find fault with. You gave the Weezer album a glowing review, fully admitting that there are a few songs on there that aren't good (I love Weezer also by the way, so no argument there). So the only failure is your argument.
Jim,
I think it was an Onion article that read: "Hipster Angrily Calls Another a Hipster."
Seriously guy, get off of your high-horse, listen to the music and stop trying to put a label on everything and everyone. It just makes you look like a poor journalist with nothing truly interesting to say.
As for the album itself, its not 1.5 stars bad. It has some odd moments, yes, but let's not get crazy and discredit the entire disc for those few moments. This is a band that's TRYING to refine their overall eclectic sound. This is a band that has both the discography and live show to become America's answer to Radiohead.