The Waterfall - Album Reviews

[MMJCOBRA]

http://nbhap.com/reviews/my-morning-jacket-the-waterfall/

My Morning Jacket – 'The Waterfall'
Their seventh record sees them in full shape.

April 30, 2015 Henning Grabow
My Morning Jacket - The Waterfall
NBHAP Rating: 4.6/5
MY MORNING JACKET
The Waterfall
Release-Date: 04.05.2015
Label: ATO Records

Tracklist:
01. Believe (Nobody Knows)
02. Compound Fracture
03. Like A River
04. In Its Infancy (The Waterfall)
05. Get The Point
06. Spring (Among the Living)
07. Thin Line
08. Big Decisions
09. Tropics (Erase Traces)
10. Only Memories Remain

ALBUM OF THE WEEK

No one really knows exactly when it happened but it must have been somewhen around the time of the departure of MY MORNING JACKET's founding members Johnny Quaid and Danny Cash in 2004 that the band's process of becoming the possibly biggest small band in the world began. The astonishing thing to see is that singer Jim James and his fellow musicians didn't aim for anything suitable to the masses at any point – instead they carried on the alternative country spirit they inherited in the first place and kept on growing along the barriers of classic rock, 70s prog and digestible psychedelic. Now, MY MORNING JACKET's seventh full length, The Waterfall has arrived and, though it's a bold thing to say in a world where usually "their older stuff is the greatest": If you wanto to start and comprehend this band in their whole spectrum you probably start best with this album.

There are many out there claiming that 'change' is essential to their art and that they never ever want to repeat themselves. The truth is of course, that a complete makeover of a once developed, distinct sound is neither necessiraly helpful nor a thing that fans usually appreciate. MY MORNING JACKET however have often been the band that neglected itself to a certain point with every release. From puristic folk, country and blues on 2003s It Still Moves to the hymnal pop breakthrough Z in 2005, to glamrock-escapades (Evil Urges) and lately a little progressive overload on 2011s Circuital: MY MORNING JACKET's hardly reducible to a certain image and sound. In fact, it's always been kind of hard to really like these changelings because one couldn't help but feel that Jim James and his band hadn't even begun to like themselves either. The Waterfall now has the potential to change this perception. Mainly because it's an exciting album in the best meaning of the word.

There's too little space here to describe all that's going on on The Waterfall. The changes in rhythm and dynamics alone would suffice for a proper musicological analysis. And, although the attitude of offering a whole spectrum of style and sound is not new to MY MORNING JACKET's output, they successfully bound it into a beautiful bouquet with this one. You could easily get lost in the details but you also might also simply enjoy Jim James crooning, whining, proclaiming his way through the depths of life, love, self-doubt and destiny. Starting with the hymnal opener Believe, growing into 80s pop in Compound Fractures and on into the psychedelic gospel of Like A River and In Its Infancy (The Waterfall), ending up somewhere within the epic Spring and the previously released, rather simple rock song Big Decisions: The Waterfall is so full of adventure, taking (and mastering) risks, richly textured and extremely well produced songs that it's a really liberating experience to listen to it.

The mystery of MY MORNING JACKET might be solved: there is none. This is a bunch of passionate, highly crafted and yes, at times also slightly too ambitious musicians. But they're willing to work hard on their tunes, melting their influences from 60s KING CRIMSON to contemporary soft rock and stripped-down Americana into glistening, odd but true songs. It helps of course to have a Jim James in front because his voice and presence alone justifies MY MORNING JACKET's high status in a live-business that's ruled by one-man-shows. But the reputation of being an excellent live band is also complemented by a great record this time – The Waterfall presents the Kentucky based bunch at their best and this is really something to look up to. Despite their current status of quite unlikely rockstars: they're up there for a reason.

Their seventh record presents the several shades of MY MORNING JACKET in a previously unachieved density.

MY MORNING JACKET

[johnnYYac]

Metacritic

79

http://www.metacritic.com/music/the-waterfall/my-morning-jacket

[dub82]

Odd to see compound constantly referred to 80s synth pop. At OBh, it sounded like a badass rock song, and was the one I was most excited about on the new album.

[johnnYYac]

http://diymag.com/2015/05/01/my-morning-jacket-the-waterfall-album-review

Album Review: My Morning Jacket - The Waterfall

An inviting record that will leave returning fans thankful for them not disappearing.
Label: ATO Records
Released: May 4, 2015
Reviewer: Ross Jones
Rating:
3 Stars

Having spent seventeen years together now, My Morning Jacket grew prominent in the genre-moulding 'indie rock' bracket that took over the US in the early to mid-2000s. Now releasing their seventh record, MMJ have returned as a group with the inevitable challenge of remaining relevant.

It's evident the primary influence of 'The Waterfall' is the location of which they recorded. Settling themselves in the idyllic Stinson Beach in California, they retain a calm and unhurried quality throughout, one not unfamiliar within their catalogue. Working alongside previous producer Tucker Martine (The Decemberists, Modest Mouse) adds to the warm familiarity, guiding the group in developing a pleasing exhibition in sonically illustrating one's surroundings. The 70s radio rock of 'Compound Fracture', and the mountainous-folk of 'Like A River', sway in a breeze of orchestral layering, steel chords and Jim James' broad vocal range, their music's most absorbing feature.

Throughout the record the group allude to a spiritual mysticism, sonically defining with refrains of eerie progressions in 'Tropics' and 'In It's Infancy (The Waterfall)'. What is most prevalent is how they seem cleansed and in the mood to again leisurely experiment. Yet when MMJ dwell in the americana pop rock of lead single 'Big Decisions', it pushes them out of their comfort zone. James' mawkish coo of "you're sweet, and sexy" feels a little outdated, an ominous example of attempting to reach out in a broader sense.

Through their time in Stinson, MMJ prosper by casually exploring within their familiar sound. While it perhaps won't warrant an influx of new listeners, 'The Waterfall' is an inviting record that will leave returning fans thankful for them not disappearing.

[johnnYYac]

http://www.undertheradarmag.com/reviews/my_morning_jacket_the_waterfall/

My Morning Jacket
The Waterfall
ATO/Capitol

May 01, 2015 Issue #53 - April/May 2015 - By Scott Dransfield

Jim James is rock music's leading mystic. For years, his lyrics have explored big philosophical questions, and contain frequent mentions of spiritual concepts. It follows, then, that the My Morning Jacket frontman is an expert at meditation; nobody would be surprised if the dude could teach a class on it. The Waterfall, My Morning Jacket's first album in four years, sounds as if the whole band retreated to an isolated meadow back in 2011 and has been meditating until now: it's clear, confident, and focused. It's also Jim James and company's best record since 2005's Z.

In reality, the band's members have actually been pretty busy since 2011's Circuital was released. Jim James released his solo debut, 2013's Regions of Light and Sound of God, and drummer Patrick Hallahan played on Spanish Gold's debut album. And while My Morning Jacket didn't quite meditate in a meadow, they did hole up in a studio on Northern California's Stinson Beach to record The Waterfall, a locale that supposedly inspired the bulk of the album's relaxed recording sessions. That inspiration is evident: "Like a River" and "Tropics (Erase Traces)" are freewheeling excursions, full of mystery and ready to soundtrack a walk on an isolated ocean shore.

It's not all mysticism and free-spirited natural beauty here, though. The Waterfall is filled to the brim with decades of classic rock, blue-eyed soul, and old-school folk influences. Lead single "Big Decisions" could be a lost single from The River-era Springsteen, complete with sax and piano. "Tropics (Erase Traces)" is downright Zeppelin-esque. Grandiosity is the name of the game for most of the 10-song album, as horns, strings, and vocal harmonies lift nearly every guitar riff and vocal melody into the stratosphere. Aesthetic elements aren't the only ones that sound so assured, either. The overall mood of The Waterfall is contented and optimistic, which is very satisfying after the sometimes troubled mindset of the band's past work.

Ultimately, The Waterfall is an exciting refresh for My Morning Jacket, especially considering that the band has hinted at a second album from these sessions on its way next year. It's a triumphant listen for longtime fans of the band, and hopefully it will perk up some new, fresh ears as well. We might not all get to hide away at a secluded studio on Stinson Beach, but My Morning Jacket have brought that grandeur to us.

Author rating: 8.5/10

[johnnYYac]

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/my-morning-jacket-the-waterfall--album-review-whirlpools-of-analogy-and-swirling-guitars-10217425.html

My Morning Jacket, The Waterfall - album review: Whirlpools of analogy and swirling guitars

4/5 stars

Having indulged his crypto-religious ruminations in 2013's solo opus magnum Regions of Light and Sound of God, prolific frontman Jim James returns to My Morning Jacket with his soul refreshed and ready for another tilt at the cosmic windmill.

Always prey to their psychedelic tendencies, here MMJ swallow the full tab and dive headfirst into a whirlpool of supposition, analogy and swirling guitars, pursuing "the answer [which] floats on down the farthest shore of the mind", as James puts it in the opener "Believe (Nobody Knows)". The song's claim that "nobody knows for sure" is rather undermined, however, by the stadium-sized self-belief of the arrangement, in which Garcia-esque guitar tendrils are bound to anthemic posturing on a Coldplay scale.

James's soulful falsetto vocals lend an ethereal tone to the spiritual musings of "Compound Fracture" and "Like a River": in the one hankering for a world where "there's no evil, there's no good, just people doing as they should", whilst, over gently juddering keyboard and eerily shivering string-synth, the other pursues its liquid metaphor for life through to a climactic wordless keening which evokes the tumble of a waterfall, neatly setting the scene for the ensuing "In Its Infancy (The Waterfall)". Another smoke-wreathed reflection on the wheel of life, swathed in vibes and fizzing portamento synth, it's rather sabotaged by its own ambition, with too stilted shifts between its various sections.

The title "Big Decisions" suggests yet more philosophical speculation, but it turns out to be one side of a domestic dispute, with terse, chunky chording underscoring the protagonist's growing disaffection with always having to make the decisions and be Mr Nice Guy. It's perhaps the prequel to "Get The Point", which rakes regretfully over a collapsed romance, acoustic guitar and pedal steel treading lightly on spurned affections.

[johnnYYac]

https://rollingstoneaus.com/reviews/post/my-morning-jacket-the-waterfall/1541

My Morning Jacket
The Waterfall Spunk /Capitol
My Morning Jacket

4 stars

by Darren Levin | April 30th, 2015 12:20:PM EST

Just as Rumours is inextricable from Sausalito, My Morning Jacket's seventh album is an aural postcard from California's Stinson Beach. There, in a vacation home cum studio perched over a hillside, Jim James and his crew of sonic cowboys were busy getting lost in their own mystical universe. They were so inspired, they made two albums: The Waterfall and another full-length release, due out next year.

Stinson Beach is world's apart – both geographically and spiritually – from the Kentucky church gym that birthed 2011's Circuital. And while that locale inspired MMJ to get back to their Southern roots, The Waterfall is their most sun-dappled Cali album yet. The Pacific Coast sound is all over the double-tracked guitars of "Thin Line" and the eerie finger-picked chords of "Like a River", which centres on James' reedy falsetto. It segues perfectly into "In Its Infancy", which is five-plus minutes of Zen-like bliss.

That's not to say this album is easy listening, or that the Eagles or America would ever attempt anything this whack. Thankfully, MMJ haven't lost the sense of adventure that made 2005's Z such a game-changing trip (case in point: the Eighties soft-pop of "Compound Fracture"). They might still lapse into safe ballad territory ("Get To the Point" is pretty, but virtually indistinguishable from "Wonderful" on Circuital), but it's their restless energy that makes MMJ such an exciting proposition from one album to the next.

[johnnYYac]

http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/my-morning-jacket-the-waterfall-album-review-1.2193584

My Morning Jacket: The Waterfall | Album Review
Lauren Murphy
Fri, May 1, 2015, 17:00

4/5 stars

Why aren't My Morning Jacket a bigger band? Wait, that's actually an easy question to answer. Despite Jim James and Co's numerous Grammy nominations, truthfully it is over-ambition that has stymied the Kentucky band's progress over the course of their 17-year career. Such albums as 2003's It Still Moves and 2005's Z prised open the door to a new audience, but their tendency to embellish has meant that critical acclaim has never really translated into sales or a bona fide crossover to the mainstream.

By all accounts, this has never bothered the quintet – particularly James, who continues to indulge his manifold solo and side-projects to this day. His seventh album with My Morning Jacket is as sprawling a miscellany as what has come before, but this time it's inflected with prominent dashes of 1970s Californian rock.

It's a sound that's been audible throughout much of the band's previous material, but this time it can be attributed to the fact that The Waterfall was mostly recorded at the beautiful Stinson Beach in northern California. Songs like the slinky Only Memories Remain and In Its Infancy (The Waterfall) are particularly evocative of bands such as CSNY, Creedence and even The Eagles, the latter punctuated by dashes of psychedelia. The acoustic guitar of Get the Point is a foil for songs like the squally, spacey, overblown Tropics (Erase Traces) while the celebratory feel of colourful opener Believe – underlined by James's characteristically philosophical lyrics – is so ridiculous, you can't help but smile. The Waterfall won't be the album to make My Morning Jacket a household name, yet just like a carefully stitched patchwork quilt of styles, there is both comfort and huge enjoyment to be drawn from this album.

[johnnYYac]

http://www.backseatmafia.com/2015/04/30/album-review-my-morning-jacket-the-waterfall/

Album Review – My Morning Jacket – The Waterfall
Jon Bryan — April 30, 2015
8.3/10

After over a decade of following My Morning Jacket's career, I've come to terms with the fact that I'll prefer some of their albums over others, and oddly enough that's lead to me anticipating their new albums more keenly than I do most other acts. One of the thing's I've always admired about MMJ is the fact that you're never quite sure which version of themselves they'll turn out to be on their next album. From jam-heavy extended song-structures, to more concise and direct rockers, to flirting with the alt-country sound, to classic Southern Rock, MMJ are a band with an enviable bag of tricks and they have a wonderful knack for being able to vary their approach to cosmic americana, and yet retain a unique sonic identity.

The Waterfall bursts into life with the synthetic bubbles that open "Believe (Nobody Knows)", a surging mass of positivity with a vast chorus. As an opener it's a rather wonderful statement of intent and builds the anticipation that maybe, just maybe, The Waterfall might be My Morning Jacket's most satisfying album to date. It's a feeling backed up by the heart-swelling pop rock of "Compound Fracture". Yeah, on the strength of this opening duo The Waterfall is promising to be my favourite MMJ album so far.

Then it all starts to flake away. The next couple of songs, although decent enough MMJ songs, just don't make much of an impression on me, and it's only the change of pace that the pretty "Get the Point" brings that makes sure that the rest of the album doesn't just all fade together, resulting in a relatively disappointing alt-rock album. Where are the great accessible rock tunes like "Holdin' On to Black Metal" and "Outta My System" on Circuital, or "What a Wonderful Man" on Z? The Waterfall is a beautiful sounding album, but it sort of fails to make a lasting impact.

Oh, I'm sure it wasn't supposed to be like that.

The thing is, I would have left it that, if it wasn't for the fact that The Waterfall has little musical barbs, great moments that kept pulling me back in to listen to it again. And again. And yet again. Each time it left slightly more of a positive impression on me.

Then I understood.

The Waterfall is a fine example of a rare beast in today's music – it's a grower. Too many times an act puts out an album which initially makes a big impression when you first encounter it, but ultimately fades away from your memory far quicker than you would expect it to. The Waterfall does the opposite of that, pulling of the neat trick of slowly revealing its increasingly interesting qualities over time, to the point where you listen to it with greater frequency, as it gently burrows its way into your psyche, waiting for you to realise what a truly satisfying and well-balanced album it is as you allow its rich loamy textures to envelope you.

For me it was "Get the Point" that was key to unlocking the rest of The Waterfall. Initial listens had left me with the impression that it was merely a pretty break-up tune, but as I listened to it with greater frequency, it revealed just what a gorgeously fractured and broken-hearted song it was, as it reaches in and reminds you that some break ups are for the best and that some people don't stop loving each other, but that for reasons beyond anyone's control, their relationships just flounder and expire. If you nail a song like that as well as MMJ have here, it isn't just pretty, it's emotionally devastating.

Once The Waterfall has started revealing its greatness, it becomes quite the generous spirited album, as tunes like "Thin Line" and "In its Infancy (The Waterfall)" will start to rise rapidly from your subconscious regardless of the time of day and a song like "Like a River" handsomely repay the amount of time you invest in it. A personal favourite of mine has become "Big Decisions", a wonderful tune and the album's lead single, which almost completely passed me by the first couple of times I heard it, but has slowly but surely become the centrepiece of the second half of the album for me.

My Morning Jacket remain the type of band that music fans can have a proper relationship with, in that not all of their albums will appeal to all elements of their audience. That is in no way a bad thing, as it means that they have a lot more to offer than your average alt-rock act, and hey, if you weren't so enamoured with their last album, their next two might be more your thing. This approach gives MMJ scope to grow and develop without feeling that they need to stick to one specific formula to retain the interest of their fanbase, indeed their fans remain pleasingly open to the prospect of MMJ switching things around as their creative muse shifts from time to time. This willingness to follow their muse in whatever direction has been a hallmark of My Morning Jacket's career to date, and on the strength of The Waterfall, it's an approach which continues to pay dividends for everyone involved.

[justbcuzido]

http://www.backseatmafia.com/2015/04/30/album-review-my-morning-jacket-the-waterfall/

Album Review – My Morning Jacket – The Waterfall
Jon Bryan — April 30, 2015
8.3/10

After over a decade of following My Morning Jacket's career, I've come to terms with the fact that I'll prefer some of their albums over others, and oddly enough that's lead to me anticipating their new albums more keenly than I do most other acts. One of the thing's I've always admired about MMJ is the fact that you're never quite sure which version of themselves they'll turn out to be on their next album. From jam-heavy extended song-structures, to more concise and direct rockers, to flirting with the alt-country sound, to classic Southern Rock, MMJ are a band with an enviable bag of tricks and they have a wonderful knack for being able to vary their approach to cosmic americana, and yet retain a unique sonic identity.

The Waterfall bursts into life with the synthetic bubbles that open "Believe (Nobody Knows)", a surging mass of positivity with a vast chorus. As an opener it's a rather wonderful statement of intent and builds the anticipation that maybe, just maybe, The Waterfall might be My Morning Jacket's most satisfying album to date. It's a feeling backed up by the heart-swelling pop rock of "Compound Fracture". Yeah, on the strength of this opening duo The Waterfall is promising to be my favourite MMJ album so far.

Then it all starts to flake away. The next couple of songs, although decent enough MMJ songs, just don't make much of an impression on me, and it's only the change of pace that the pretty "Get the Point" brings that makes sure that the rest of the album doesn't just all fade together, resulting in a relatively disappointing alt-rock album. Where are the great accessible rock tunes like "Holdin' On to Black Metal" and "Outta My System" on Circuital, or "What a Wonderful Man" on Z? The Waterfall is a beautiful sounding album, but it sort of fails to make a lasting impact.

Oh, I'm sure it wasn't supposed to be like that.

The thing is, I would have left it that, if it wasn't for the fact that The Waterfall has little musical barbs, great moments that kept pulling me back in to listen to it again. And again. And yet again. Each time it left slightly more of a positive impression on me.

Then I understood.

The Waterfall is a fine example of a rare beast in today's music – it's a grower. Too many times an act puts out an album which initially makes a big impression when you first encounter it, but ultimately fades away from your memory far quicker than you would expect it to. The Waterfall does the opposite of that, pulling of the neat trick of slowly revealing its increasingly interesting qualities over time, to the point where you listen to it with greater frequency, as it gently burrows its way into your psyche, waiting for you to realise what a truly satisfying and well-balanced album it is as you allow its rich loamy textures to envelope you.

For me it was "Get the Point" that was key to unlocking the rest of The Waterfall. Initial listens had left me with the impression that it was merely a pretty break-up tune, but as I listened to it with greater frequency, it revealed just what a gorgeously fractured and broken-hearted song it was, as it reaches in and reminds you that some break ups are for the best and that some people don't stop loving each other, but that for reasons beyond anyone's control, their relationships just flounder and expire. If you nail a song like that as well as MMJ have here, it isn't just pretty, it's emotionally devastating.

Once The Waterfall has started revealing its greatness, it becomes quite the generous spirited album, as tunes like "Thin Line" and "In its Infancy (The Waterfall)" will start to rise rapidly from your subconscious regardless of the time of day and a song like "Like a River" handsomely repay the amount of time you invest in it. A personal favourite of mine has become "Big Decisions", a wonderful tune and the album's lead single, which almost completely passed me by the first couple of times I heard it, but has slowly but surely become the centrepiece of the second half of the album for me.

My Morning Jacket remain the type of band that music fans can have a proper relationship with, in that not all of their albums will appeal to all elements of their audience. That is in no way a bad thing, as it means that they have a lot more to offer than your average alt-rock act, and hey, if you weren't so enamoured with their last album, their next two might be more your thing. This approach gives MMJ scope to grow and develop without feeling that they need to stick to one specific formula to retain the interest of their fanbase, indeed their fans remain pleasingly open to the prospect of MMJ switching things around as their creative muse shifts from time to time. This willingness to follow their muse in whatever direction has been a hallmark of My Morning Jacket's career to date, and on the strength of The Waterfall, it's an approach which continues to pay dividends for everyone involved.

My favorite review so far...

[gardenparty]

decent enough review but I think "Outta My System"  and "Black Metal" are two of the worst songs on Circuital. 

[johnnYYac]

Opinions are like...

I will say, there are two reviews up there that seem to have been written by middle-schoolers.  How do some of these people get paid to write?  Where are the editors?

[Stevie]

decent enough review but I think "Outta My System"  and "Black Metal" are two of the worst songs on Circuital.

Hahaha, yeah I chuckled.  Everyone is looking for something different I guess.

One thing he is dead on about... the "musical barbs."  When I had a conversation with my best friend about the album after a couple of listens (he's also a big fan), i initially referred to these moments as "redeeming qualities."  At the time, I was not over the moon about some of the songs.  But as the writer also experienced, i kept getting sucked back into it and wanting more and more..  This is also somewhat how i experienced Evil Urges and Circuital but quite honestly nothing has been like this.  It's just so beautiful and full of life and at times it just doesn't even feel like intentionally played music, just the sound and vibrations of life through the lens of a small group of very sensitive, yet assertively exploring individuals. 

[johnnYYac]

Review: My Morning Jacket Stays True to Its Strengths on 'The Waterfall'

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/05/arts/music/review-my-morning-jacket-stays-true-to-its-strengths-on-the-waterfall.html?_r=0

MY MORNING JACKET
"The Waterfall"
(ATO/Capital)

The hum of an everyday mysticism has always been part of the deal for My Morning Jacket, but it resonates louder than usual on "The Waterfall." Don't mistake it for a problem. All those lyrics about openness, about flow, about mind-body dualism — they suit this band perfectly, along with cavernous reverb and heavy-foot midrange tempos.

That much becomes clear on the album's curtain-raiser, "Believe (Nobody Knows)," whose title effectively spoils the plot. "Believe," Jim James urges four times in the chorus, ascending halfway up a major scale. Then, with feeling: "Nobody knows!" Is that an admission? A reassurance? It doesn't matter; Mr. James is saying, as succinctly as he can, that the absence of proof lays the bedrock for belief.

"The Waterfall" is My Morning Jacket's seventh studio album, and a consolidation of its strengths, a hunk of substantiation for a believing fan base. Like the band's 2011 album, "Circuital," which was a self-conscious return to form after some clanky experiments, this one was produced by Mr. James with the engineer Tucker Martine.

The band — Mr. James and Carl Broemel on guitars, Tom Blankenship on bass, Bo Koster on keyboards and Patrick Hallahan on drums — long ago set the hazy but four-square dimensions of its style. Some of these tracks, like "Compound Fracture," evoke 1970s commercial rock, complete with blended "oohs." (Among the backup singers are Brittany Howard of Alabama Shakes and Merrill Garbus of Tune-Yards.) Other tracks, like "Spring (Among the Living)," which gravely hails the changing of the seasons, feel designed for maximum liftoff on big stages — My Morning Jacket has dozens of tour dates in its near-future, including appearances at the Governors Ball (June 5) and Bonnaroo (June 13). It's easy to envision "In Its Infancy (The Waterfall)" in such settings: it opens with a round of ceremonial accents, like the ringing of a gong, and the main beat kicks in at the chorus, after two and a half minutes of buildup.

Given that Mr. James is the principal source of earnest wonderment in the band, it's startling to come across "Get the Point," a polite-but-firm breakup song, and "Big Decisions," in which he exasperatedly sings "I don't quite feel like faking it again tonight." A deceptively easygoing tune called "Thin Line" hinges on a refrain sung in a buttery falsetto: "Well it's a thin line / Between lovin' and wasting my time."

And the album closes with "Only Memories Remain," a bittersweet ballad in the style of George Harrison, one of Mr. James's acknowledged models. It's a relationship elegy — but also a fond remembrance, and a reminder that love, too, should be a leap of faith.

[johnnYYac]

My Morning Jacket- The Waterfall (ALBUM REVIEW)

http://www.glidemagazine.com/134852/morning-jacket-waterfall-album-review/

8/10 stars

It's been over a decade since It Still Moves, the arguable pinnacle of My Morning Jacket's discography, and in the interim (with the benefit of that proverbial hindsight), the experimentation on Z and Evil Urges  might well has been left for titular leader Jim James' solo effort Regions of Light and Sound (or the spectacular stage presentations the band conducted in 2008 at Radio City Music Hall and Madison Square Garden). In making 2011′s Circuital, the band exerted great effort to streamline their sound and regain its rootsy flavor and while The Waterfall continues in that direction, here MMJ more thoroughly integrates the modern R & B, soul and folk influences within their readily identifiable style.

"Big Decisions" was an appropriate choice for the first track released and not just because its grandeur so favorably echoed the band's past without overdoing it. Making this album was a serendipitous event for My Morning Jacket, arising from the group's entrancement with the Panoramic House studio in northern California where it was recorded, and as such, the quintet didn't have an opportunity to over-think the project and become self- conscious as on the last record. Certainly, "Believe (Nobody Knows) has that rare balance of precision and abandon that comes from residing in the moment: guitar lines ascend parallel to vocals led by Jim James' familiarly echoed tenor.

And while that track begins with the bubble of electronic sounds, it's the scythe-like edge of electric guitars that dominate the track. Despite the insinuating falsetto of the leader's singing on "Compound Fracture," in combination with the similarly seductive background harmonies, the heartbeat drumming of Patrick Hallahan captures attention here, at least until the liquid keyboard notes struck by Bo Koster enter the arrangement. Within seconds, that recording ends in the same economical fashion as most of the others, to be followed in short order with the gentle acoustic guitar picking of "Like A River."

Here, wordless singing meshes in perfect proportion with floating synthetic sounds that segue into "In Its Infancy (The Waterfall).") Multi-instrumentalist Carl Broemel dominates this cut with his understated leads and fills plus the insistent rhythm guitar he plays, so much so he overshadows both Koester and James, but not Hallahan and bassist Tom Blankenship: co-producer Tucker Martine makes sure the mix rightfully highlights the burly rhythm section and in so doing, he grounds the band's musicianship, maintaining a tactile presence on even the lightest textures.

The Waterfall may feature Jim James' most direct personal expression, at least as contained on the unplugged balladry of  "Get The Point," where his well-wishing underscores the finality of its kiss-off sentiment. A curiously familiar melody has its almost but not quite predictable changes effectively diluted through sharp pedal steel a skillful set-up to the subsequent track, "Spring (Among the Living)," which also functions as a major transition for the album. Artificial strings cover stuttering beats while the drama grows in the lead vocals, the momentum of which becomes accelerated through drop outs in the arrangement which further create a positive tension and release dynamic.

Within ten tracks total and a running time of less than an hour, "Thin Line" is really the only other cut besides the aforementioned single that directly recalls the previous work of My Morning Jacket. It's hard not to long for a more extended improvisational section on this cut, but the contrast between the passages of dream-like quiet and thunderous crescendos make "Tropics (Erase Traces)"  wholly arresting.  As is the longest piece here, "Only Memories Remain" its thoroughly gentle atmosphere as heady as it is haunting – whether played at a high enough volume (or on headphones). The track's all enveloping ambiance  seems to set the stage for a more forceful climax, but the absence of a genuine knockout punch is in keeping with My Morning Jacket's willful decision not to do the expected or conventional on The Waterfall.

[johnnYYac]

My Morning Jacket's 'The Waterfall' flows with hope and brilliance (album review)

http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2015/05/my_morning_jacket_finds_hope_a.html

CLEVELAND, Ohio – My Morning Jacket has been one of rock's greatest shape shifters of the past decade.
MMJtheWaterfall.jpgMy Morning Jacket - "The Waterfall"ATO Records

The Kentucky act once unfairly labeled a jam-band has branched out into everything from psychedelic rock ("Z"), and indie-soul ("Evil Urges") to strange space-rock ("Circuital"). MMJ's latest effort, "The Waterfall," takes all of those influences and merges them into the band's most complete album in a decade.

The basis for "Waterfall" is heartbreak and exhaustion. Frontman Jim James found himself inspired by feelings of being rundown, disappointment and relationship woes. Yet, "Waterfall" centers on hope.

The album opens with "Believe (Nobody Knows)," a sprawling southern jam driven by James and Carl Broemel's amazing guitars. Likewise, "Like a River" references the rough journey to a metaphorical home, as James makes use of his fantastic falsetto.

Even "The Waterfall's" most depressing track, "In Its Infancy (The Waterfall)," offers optimism with James singing, "Again, I stop the waterfall by just believing." "In Its Infancy" is the album's best track, beginning as a dark manifesto before evolving into a triumphant southern-blues masterpiece.

Musically, "The Waterfall" is both diverse and cohesive. James and company's palate ranges from beautiful folk ("Get The Point") and enticing R&B ("Thin Line") to psychedelic brilliance ("Only Memories Remain"). It never once ceases to be engaging.

MMJ has plans to release another album before the end of the year. Based on "The Waterfall," I say keep it coming. Grade: B+

[johnnYYac]

MMJ gets back to nature with 'Waterfall'

http://www.courier-journal.com/story/entertainment/music/2015/05/04/morning-jacket-waterfall/26865249/

A lot of things go into making an album, not all of them intentional. The key, apparently, is to keep an open mind, roll with the punches and make sure you pick a really beautiful place to record.

When Louisville's My Morning Jacket convened in late 2013 at Panoramic House, a quietly grand studio overlooking Stinson Beach in Northern California, they began with a tall stack of mostly skeletal song ideas written by Jim James and no real expectations.

James, Tom Blankenship, Patrick Hallahan, Bo Koster and Carl Broemel dove in, ready for anything, and they got it: a personal record 18 months from first session to last, a debilitating back injury for James, and, finally, enough material for two albums.

"The Waterfall" was released Monday to great acclaim, and a second full-length will follow later this year.

"When we went out to Stinson Beach, I feel like we lived a lifetime, at least for me," James said. "I feel like I experienced every emotion that you could experience, except maybe giving birth to a child, thank God.

"Other than that, I experienced joy and love and sadness and I threw out my back ... so I experienced the greatest pain I've ever had in my life. It was a bunch of really intense things but also really beautiful. It was like we lived on our own little moon or something."

Stinson Beach wound up becoming almost a sixth band member. Everyone bunked in two beach houses, and long walks to and from the studio each day allowed the tranquility of the oceanside setting to seep into the music. Nature imagery pops up throughout the album, as does a sense of new beginnings.

Stinson Beach, Blankenship said, is where the story of "The Waterfall" starts.

"Once we got out there and got a feel for how crazy beautiful, serene and quiet that area is, that's where the story really starts," Blankenship said. "When I listen to the record it just sounds like Stinson Beach. It sounds like a sunset out there."

"The spirit of this album was so natural and the energy so forward that we could have kept going on forever," Hallahan said.

"The Waterfall" is My Morning Jacket's seventh studio album and first for Capitol Records in partnership with their longtime label, ATO. In many ways the band, which started in 1998, has had an ideal career. It has never had less than complete artistic control, is covered incessantly by the national music press and boasts a fiercely loyal fan base.

But those fans aren't always happy. My Morning Jacket's last two albums, 2008's "Evil Urges" and 2011's "Circuital," both debuted in the top 10 of Billboard's album charts, but neither sold in huge numbers; and there were grumblings about the band's excursions into dance music and general weirdness (neither of which should have been much of a surprise).

Sessions for "The Waterfall" resulted in plenty of (probably weird) dance music, but James felt it was better served on its own album. He wondered if first putting out a more rock-oriented collection might not appeal to old-school fans, while a second album would be a bonus round for the more adventurous.

"It may be a pointless experiment, but I was curious to see what would happen," he said. "I thought it would be cool to have one that didn't have any dance- or soul-based stuff on it, and then follow it up with one that was completely dance- and soul-based."

"The Waterfall" is a big-sounding album that deals with big ideas on scales large and small. Like all My Morning Jacket records, it reflects James' ongoing explorations into both music history and spiritual matters.

But where past records tended to simply ask questions, "The Waterfall" finds James offering some tentative answers about how to maintain momentum in a world built on a foundation of mysteries.

"I feel like I still don't know how to explain anything, but I have accepted that, I guess, and I'm just trying to live," he said.

Jeffrey Lee Puckett can be reached at (502) 582-4160, jpuckett@courier-journal.com and on Twitter, @JLeePuckett.

[Stevie]

Sessions for "The Waterfall" resulted in plenty of (probably weird) dance music, but James felt it was better served on its own album. He wondered if first putting out a more rock-oriented collection might not appeal to old-school fans, while a second album would be a bonus round for the more adventurous.

"It may be a pointless experiment, but I was curious to see what would happen," he said. "I thought it would be cool to have one that didn't have any dance- or soul-based stuff on it, and then follow it up with one that was completely dance- and soul-based."

Woah!   Is this the first nugget of info we have gotten about the remaining tracks?

Very interesting, the next one could end up being less rock-oriented than anything they have ever done. 

[MarkW]

The Observer (UK): http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/may/03/my-morning-jacket-the-waterfall-review-compound-fracture

My Morning Jacket: The Waterfall review – initially endearing, lacklustre later
3 / 5 stars
(ATO)

Paul Mardles

Sunday 3 May 2015 08.00 BST

Once noted for their space-rock jams, Kentucky five-piece My Morning Jacket have branched out in recent years, embracing 1980s funk and AOR to the chagrin of many longtime fans. The Waterfall, the first of two MMJ albums scheduled for release in the next 12 months or so, contains traces of their old expansive sound, though elastic soul and soft rock dominate. The first few tracks, particularly the Prince-like Compound Fracture, are endearingly spacious and snake-hipped, but The Waterfall's lacklustre second half indicates they've lost touch with the band they once were.

[bikemail]

Here's a great longform piece from Stereogum that reviews the new album, but also kinda looks at MMJ in the context of the musical landscape of today:
http://www.stereogum.com/1799475/opening-the-world-again-my-morning-jackets-the-waterfall-and-the-new-americana/franchises/essay/