IN REVIEW: My Morning Jacket - "The Waterfall"

If you're going to make me count the most adventurous bands of the last fifteen years on one hand, the first band that's going to come to mind every time is My Morning Jacket. It's easy to underestimate just how much they've grown and how far they've pushed out their boundaries since their early days of recording reverb-soaked alt-country in empty grain silos. Starting in earnest from their 2005 breakthrough Z, they've never shied away from an impulse.

Whether the reggae-meets-soft rock of Off the Record, the gonzo space funk of Highly Suspicious or the staggering big band sway of Holdin' on to Black Metal, My Morning Jacket have had a recent track record of leading with some of their most experimental material. Which is why it was a little strange that the first taste we got of The Waterfall was in the form of legitimate single material Big Decisions, with its straightforward approach and home run chorus. It put forth the possibility that, after a decade of restless experimentation, My Morning Jacket were ready to pull it back a bit.

"A bit" ends up being the operative turn of phrase there, as The Waterfall proves to be every bit as varied as previous records. When they do peel back the layers and leave the bare bones, as they do on sparser numbers Get the Point and Only Memories Remain (and especially, on the deluxe version, bonus track Hillside Song), there's no doubt that this is the same group they've always been. Then, on bombastic, celebratory numbers like Spring (Among the Living) and Believe (Nobody Knows), they build '70s levels of prog on top of the roots of their sound.

When the two sides meet in the middle, the results can be thrilling, as they most definitely are on aforementioned Big Decisions and following track Tropics (Erase Traces); the latter boasting especially pleasing guitar work and a particularly effective buildup. Also noteworthy is Compound Fracture, which is a good song that gets taken to great places by its soaring dual choruses.

When talking about this band and its affinity for experimentation, many draw a correlation between My Morning Jacket and Radiohead. If Z was MMJ's OK Computer, as some have opined, then perhaps The Waterfall is their In Rainbows. They clearly haven't let go of their desire to wring new ideas out of their core sound but, after so much tireless exploration, they've earned the right to sit back and admire the view as often as they dive in head first.

May 4, 2015 • ATO/Capitol

Highlights Compound Fracture • Big Decisions • Tropics (Erase Traces)