AMG Review of IT STILL MOVES

[fakeplasticspivey]

AMG REVIEW: It's a beautiful thing to know that Brian Wilson is still alive and well in the kingdom of indie rock. My Morning Jacket's third full-length effort, and first for the ATO/RCA venture label, is a step beyond the band's work for Darla. While the gorgeous amalgam of the Band's vision of country/Americana and Neil Young's blend of folk and rock are everywhere present, there is a new textural awareness evident on It Still Moves. Jim James' songwriting is tighter in structure, but his production sensibility is early-'70s Laurel Canyon, with some of the Grateful Dead's American Beauty tropes as well. Sounds like a mess, doesn't it? Well, it's not. Wearing your influences on your sleeve doesn't mean unoriginality. James is an original songwriter; he has worked hard to develop the gifts inherent in his lyric concerns and his ability to paint emotional landscapes with his melodies, and the payoff has never been greater. "Mahgeetah," with its Pet Sounds ambience and country-rock melody — complete with fuzzed-out guitar solo — is far more imaginative than anything Wilco ever pulled off by trying the same thing (which they do over and over ad nauseum). "Dancefloors," with its biting Telecaster lead line that echoes "Baby Don't Do It" and the Stray Gators' country majesty, is full of warmth, depth, and Levon Helm's soul. And "Golden," which is the third track in this opening triad, brings James' love of Tim Buckley and Fred Neil into the light. But all of these elements of construction are read through James' Kentucky and his unique melodic gift, where fragments becomes entire lines become songs with stunning bridges, achingly poetic lyrics, and a country boy's sense of whacked-out humor and tenderness (check out "One Big Holiday"). The horn arrangements on "Easy Morning Rebel" make the country shuffle into a near R&B tune with an old-timey stroll through a shambolic rhythm track. In all, My Morning Jacket may be a journey through the past, but it's also a solid step into something rock & roll has been missing for an awfully long time in the mainstream arena: melody, extremely catchy and well-written songs that aren't afraid of the mainstream, and a love of the great pop continuum that translates into something new.


Great review, however they only gave it 3 out of 5 stars. ???  Even though I absolutely love AMG, sometimes it can be very inconsistant!!

[Oz]

That thing with the stars is a bit strange indeed... But apart from that, a great review indeed, and, more important, finally one that mentions the Beach Boys and doesn't mention Neil Young... I was waiting for that one.  :)

[igor]

it is a great review, but they still didn't get away from the neil young comparison. at least it only showed up once, hehe. i'm surprised to see tim and fred mentioned.

[burrito_brother]

It is a quality review...but still...Neil Young..at least it was only once.  I like the Beach Boys comparison, although I hear more of the sunflower-era Beach Boys in the new mmj.  I like the Grateful Dead comparison as well.  I have thought before that I heard a little American Beauty in the new one.  :) All around good review. The 3 out of 5....typo?