Green Bay Press - Teen Review

[LaurieBlue]

http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051125/GPG0405/511250479/1250/GPGlife

Teen review: CD: My Morning Jacket pulls off mixed sounds on 'Z'

My Morning Jacket branches out by incorporating all of its past sounds and some new ones into its latest release, "Z."

The album is a combination of many genres, from rock to pop to country, but they are all put together carefully to create a multi-dimensional record. Jim James' high-pitched, lofty voice suits the wandering guitars and soft piano chords well.

"Gideon" uses driving guitar chords and piano that seem to be building up to a crashing finish, but instead fades softly. "What A Wonderful Man" uses bouncing guitar and piano chords to craft the most poppy-sounding song on the record. "Anytime" is more rock-based, with wailing vocals and crashing drums. "Off the Record" starts with a driving electric guitar and fades gracefully to a down tempo finish.

James sounds as though he's singing from a faraway place, yet maintains an emotional connection with listeners. His relatable lyrics glide over a steady rhythm in "It Beats 4 U," as he sings "Who could see and not believe?/The heart that beats the wavelength/And who could say but never do/Things they've said to someone who/Through all that's been and all will be."

Synths and piano are the most prominent additions to My Morning Jacket's usual cross-genre repertoire, but they never dominate the floating guitars and purposeful drums.

Listening to "Z" is like sleeping in your own bed after a long vacation — comforting and familiar. It's these qualities that will make My Morning Jacket a staple in indie rock.

[Easy Morning Rebel]

That's a good review. :)

[tomEisenbraun]

haha, definitely a Teen Review. Sounds like somebody wrote an essay for English class.

Sorry to be such a cynic on that one, but that definitely follows the style of every disinterested essay I've had to write for school. And not to say it wasn't appreciative of the band, it's just that writing essays sucks. That's probably somehting he had to do for school. There's almost a formula involved ("cover these things, mention four to five songs, and pick out something unique in all them, and print lyrics once").

Man, I wanna write an article for a newspaper. No kiddin. That would frickin rock. Especially if i scored an interview...

'Spose Metacritic counts this one?

[primushead]

Man, I wanna write an article for a newspaper. No kiddin. That would frickin rock. Especially if i scored an interview...

Do it man!  I'll even chip in $10 to cover expenses.  

[tomEisenbraun]

maybe i will....

[wellfleet]

tom... it's written for teens! and with the state of education being what it is, you gotta dumb it down a little bit, no big words or obscure notions. but check it out, what if some teen puts down their Usher CD long enough to check out the Jacket? besides, as a former newspaper music critic, i'd rather have something direct and somewhat bland than something pitchfork-y written by a 20something jerk (like me) out of his Michigan State dormroom. Ya know?