From the ACL Taping Program on August 25, 2008:
My Morning Jacket returns to the Austin City Limits stage with a new CD that “explodes the band’s sound” (Rolling Stone) and “represents the creative peak of a band that has shown glimpses of greatness in the past” (Music OMH).
My Morning Jacket first emerged in 1998 as devotees of country-tinged classic rock, but they widened their sound throughout the following years, embracing everything from neo-psychedelia and Americana to funk, prog and reggae. The past several My Morning Jacket albums have each reflected the passion that the band shares for music of all categories while continuing to nurture their signature aesthetic. 2005’s Z was hailed as a creative breakthrough. MOJO wrote “With Z, My Morning Jacket have left their comfort zone, assumed the mantle of firebrands, and delivered a truly momentous work.”
This year’s Evil Urges takes the band’s sound further. Critics write that Evil Urges is the band’s “most accomplished and ambitious record, masterfully sifting through genres” (Spin). Entertainment Weekly wrote the new release “is an exhilarating, bone-deep experience — a true album, built for sustained listening.”
“The world today is such a confused place,” singer Jim James said. “Things that people think are good values are obviously twisted, but there are other things considered evil that obviously aren’t. There is real evil out there, but Evil Urges is about how all of these things that you’ve been told are evil really aren’t, unless they’re actually hurting something or somebody.“
“Evil Urges has a little something for everybody, and at a time when albums often consist of a few peaks and a lot of filler, it’s remarkably consistent,” wrote Paste.
