My Morning Jacket paint with wide brushstrokes on big blank canvasses. They tackle huge themes and their songs question the meaning of existence. They are the Jacson Pollock of rock music, its Moby Dick. OK, they are just a band but they execute ideas above their station, they write about the universe and the spirit and elevate the modern music form with an ambition that translates into enormous and powerful live experiences.
A typical MMJ song will start with a throbbing drum beat or just the merest touch of an acoustic guitar, the vocals will be echo-laden and there will be fuzz and psychedelic nuances that point to a range of influences beyond their Kentucky roots. The spaces will be gradually filled in and the song will take on many forms, finally depositing the listener in a cathartic mess.
But there isn’t really a typical MMJ song, sometimes to the annoyance of the older fans who love the dream-country of the first couple of albums and who are aghast as they’ve flirted of late with Prince and Moroder rhythms, reggae, funk and air-punching pop.
Whatever - the MMJ shows I saw over two nights recently offer something for everyone and even though it may be the heads-down rock and roll which is the abiding memory, the interludes of pastoral bliss - near silence even - mean that it is a truly diverse experience, highly intelligent music for the modern era played with an old-fashioned work ethic.
Leeds showcases their latest album ‘Circuital’. The album deals with abstract ideas involving fate and karma and, musically, is seen as a harking back to their most critically lauded records – largely free from the experimentation of its predecessor – ‘Evil Urges’ – an album that annoyed quite a few people.
Jim James - the front man and songwriter – wastes no time in indulging his showmanship on the opener ‘Victory Dance’ and by the end he is the shamanic rain dancer, arms in the air, spinning in circles and pivoting on one leg. The sound is incredible, especially the bass which is trouser wobbling loud – and this one of the more restrained songs. There is texture, however, with acoustic guitar, pedal steel and keyboards layering a sheen of complexity over the phenomenal engine room of bass and drums. James’s voice is a thing of wonder, ranging from an eerie falsetto to a dull growl. Their love of guitar breakdowns is indulged on ‘Off The Record’, a call to arms that climaxes over about five glorious minutes of power chords and distortion. The stage dynamics are thrilling and even now, just three songs in, I know this is a very special band.
Manchester the following night follows a different template with new songs not heard at Leeds and back catalogue rarities ‘Phone Went West’ and ‘Steam Engine’. I’m always impressed by bands who, in the middle of a long tour, play each song as if it was the first and last time –not just professionalism and stage craft but an authentic belief in what they are doing. Both gigs climax with ‘Holdin’ On To Black Metal’ and ‘One Big Holiday’ – exhilarating and frenetic bursts of light and noise that have the crowds jumping dementedly.
My Morning Jacket are indeed the floor to ceiling canvass, the cosmic leviathan of American rock music who continually demonstrate they will not stay in one place, even if their elemental live shows bring it all back to the basics of rock and roll. This is fine by me. I lose interest quickly in artists who repeat the formula. Change is good. Best to just go with the flow and enjoy the restlessness that sparks the creativity.
Leeds setlist
Victory Dance
Circuital
I'm Amazed
Off The Record
It Beats 4U
At Dawn
Wonderful
Outta My System
First Light
I Will Sing You Songs
Golden
Smokin' From Shootin'
Touch Me I'm Going To Scream (Pt 2)
What A Wonderful Man
Mahgeetah
Encore
Movin' Away
Wordless Chorus
The Day Is Coming
Holdin' On To Black Metal
One Big Holiday
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