Somewhere along the way, in a career of making music, My Morning Jacket decided to start breaking all the rules. Their willingness to flip genres from one song to the next, to switch tempo from one verse to the next – and generally take risks – makes for an absolutely thrilling listening experience.
Burly man, Jim James, isn’t afraid to hit the high notes and collectively you get the feeling that they’re willing to do whatever it takes to make it great: giggling in the vocals, men chanting lyrics, or a final screeching halt to end the album; it’s all there.
The first and title track, “Evil Urges“, sets the bar for the rest of the album. Essentially, you don’t know where they’re gonna take you, so get ready for a wild ride. One moment it’s thoroughly modern, the next it’s perfectly nostalgic. Take “Highly Suspicious” and “I’m Amazed”, for example. From super funky, to crystalline classic rock, there’s nothing better. Back-to-back these two songs pack a hefty one-two punch, overwhelming the senses with excitement.
But there’s more where that came from. With the release of ‘Evil Urges‘, My Morning Jacket broadened people’s expectations of what they can deliver artistically. In a nutshell: be ready for anything.
I hear influences, like the melody of Fleetwood Mac (“Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt.2“), the hard rock of Pearl Jam (“Remnants“), the funk of Prince (“Evil Urges“), and the inventiveness of the Talking Heads (“Highly Suspicious”).
