Album Review: My Morning Jacket - Circuital

Are any musical acts held to stricter standards than a cult-hero indie rock band? Every move that they make is scrutinised and derided by the more vocal elements of their fan base. Take Kentucky rockers My Morning Jacket for example. In 2002 they joined up with ATO records for their 2003’s major label debut It Still Moves to the cries of “sellout”. Two years later and another album Z, while receiving almost universal acclaim, was criticized for leaning in a more “pop” direction. And finally Evil Urges in 2008 was divisive in its wide-reaching approach to genre exploration, combining elements of funk, disco, country, and stadium-sized rock. They seem to be a band that has gotten used to praise and backlash in equal measure. And so in 2011, with the release of their new album Circuital, what are they to expect? As a small teaser to the album’s overall sound the band announced that it would be recorded mostly live in an outfitted gymnasium in an effort to reproduce their incendiary live performance. And, with the exception of some post-production luxuries, Circuital is just that. It is also a document of a veteran band coming full circle back to their roots without ignoring all of the ground that they had covered since.

Continue reading this review of My Morning Jacket's new album Circuital here.