Boulder Dirt

[LaurieBlue]

http://boulderdirt.com/music/article.cfm/4584

My Morning Jacket

"Z"

(ATO)

After obscuring his voice with swaths of reverb for three albums, My Morning Jacket singer Jim James steps out of the echo chamber on "Z," the band's fourth release.

Although he continues to emote with soaring wordless vocals - the opening tune, in fact, is called "Wordless Chorus" - James lets his voice play a more prominent part in the band's sprawling soundscapes. Good move: His pipes are soulful enough to convey heartfelt passion in a recitation of his grocery list, and James' lyrics suggest meaning without giving up mystery.

Two new musicians - guitarist Carl Broemel and keyboardist Bo Koster replaced a pair of original members who quit in early 2004 - add a different, subtle dimension to My Morning Jacket's spacey neo-Band sound. Koster plays a waltz-time calliope part on "Into the Woods" and Broemel tears into a pair of scorching guitar solos on "Anytime."

My Morning Jacket's previous albums showed an imaginative group still finding its sound. "Z" is the fully realized result of that earlier experimentation: It's a thrilling creative work by a band that has discovered just how good it is.

- Eric R. Danton, Hartford Courant