Peanut butter pudding surprise

My Morning Jacket have been on my “bands to be evangelical about” since the first time I heard At Dawn almost 7 years ago. Since then they’ve continued to record some of the best music of the past century - as well as releasing one of few live records thats merited repeat listens from someone who rarely gives live records a look in - all the time retaining their rigid allegiance to resonate, rumbling vocals and an almost operatic use of country-guitar riffs.

They’re also one of a limited number of bands who don’t need to be investigated on mp3 blogs or music review sites to know that a new release is going to be something special. But their latest offering, Evil Urges was something I wasn’t expecting at all. At times totally departing from the bands “signature sound” to create something almost totally unrecognizable as coming from My Morning Jacket, the band have created something with the occasional familiar scent of their previous albums with later tracks such as Two Halves and Look at You, and yet almost entirely different - Highly Suspicious perhaps better suited to an Electric Six album with its cheesy synth lines and what sounds like guest vocals from Steve Carrell.

My Morning Jacket - Highly Suspicious

My Morning Jacket - I’m Amazed

It’ll certainly be interesting to see how this experimentation - at time into the realms of ridiculous - goes down with fans. Personally, I love it - it’s a solid My Morning Jacket record without depending on previous stylistic comforts - but in case you disagree, here’s one of my all-time favorite tracks from At Dawn - dripping with the familiarity of previous efforts.

My Morning Jacket - Honest Man