My Morning Jacket
At Dawn
[Darla]
Rating: 7.1
There's a sentence in the liner notes for At Dawn that says, "Thanks to
all the people giving us a chance to play our rock n roll in this bleeping
buzzing world." That got me to thinking, sometimes music has to be appreciated
in a certain context. I saw My Morning Jacket play a show recently in
Washington, D.C. Their twangy sounds seemed out of place that night, packed
into a tiny club in an urban area, with car alarms blaring outside. I wanted
to be kicked back on a lawn chair, sipping some MGD and wiping at sweat while
these guys played from an outdoor bandstand. Something about the setting made
it seem a more appropriate venue for bleeping and buzzing than alt-country.
I'm glad I can give the band a second chance. Louisville, Kentucky's My
Morning Jacket have packed the 74 minutes of this CD with 14 honest, straight
up rock songs. Don't be confused by claims from the record label, though,
that, "This is what those Palace-whozits and indie-Americana popniks all wish
their albums sounded like." Most of the pieces have an upbeat, positive
attitude, and even the slower folk songs don't attempt tortured Oldham-isms.
The first song and title track actually teases with a half-minute of doomed,
Palace-esque reverb and slow percussion, but warmth enters with acoustic
guitar strumming and frontman Jim James' rich croon.
James has a strong, unique voice, and his only fault is that he stretches
out each note about as far as possible, and on the highest notes something
curdles in the back of his throat and he sounds like Kermit the frog. Here,
his lyrics deviate oddly from the rest of his efforts: "They'll haul you out
to the streets/ They'll burn your papers and your empty trash cans/ Beat
this thought into your head/ "All your life is obscene"/ But that's when
my knife rises/ Their life ends and my life starts again."
James doesn't address that 'us vs. them' paranoia much-- he's much more the
lover type, always singing about his girl. Yeah, the lyrics to "Lowdown"
have been soaking in the trite barrel too long ("Chancin'/ Glance in/ Sho'
nuff mood for romancin'"), but they're as simple as the beautiful delay
effect of the pedal steel guitar notes that make this song sound so great.
"The Way That He Sings" is full of wonder about the way songs and relationships
affect us, and it's propelled by a foot-tapping snare and pleasant vocal
harmonies between the guys in the band.
"Just Because I Do" is all about drum crashes, angular guitar lines and
harmonica, and shares that uplifting, devil-may-care quality that's the secret
to a lot of good country and R&B.; The quieter numbers later on sound more
like demos, featuring little more than James' plaintive vocals and careful
picking. "If It Smashes Down" actually unsettles its innocent opening with
a description of "a really fast, risky ride at the fair." Any chance of a
carnival-like atmosphere is dispelled by his hesitant whimpers and howls.
I wish My Morning Jacket had more of these surprises hidden in their plaid
sleeves. "Honest Man" tries to lasso the "classic" Stevie Ray Vaughn blues
instrumental but falls short. The solo doesn't quite go nowhere, but it's a
path you've been dragged down before. Likewise, James rides the "Sometimes
I walk around town lookin' at faces/ Wonderin' why their bodies go to silly
places," loner device into the ground. But the hidden instrumental track at
the end redeems it all; each note takes on a sense of jumbled autonomy, like
the music of Songs: Ohia.
If you can, pick up the two-disc version of this album. The second disc is
a collection of demos, some of which appear as full songs on At Dawn,
and some of which are unreleased. It's not essential, but the feeling of
intimacy is unparalleled. There's something about voice and acoustic guitar
together that creates the impression of fullness. Maybe it's Trevor hollAnd's
rich production. Regardless, My Morning Jacket could be the perfect soundtrack
to a summer road trip, or just something you wrap around yourself on the way
to work each morning.
-Christopher Dare