Since forming a little over a decade ago, My Morning Jacket has kept a fairly steady one-record-every-two-years pace. While they celebrate that achievement this month with a mini-residency at New York City’s Terminal 5, it seems they may be slowing down a bit. Evil Urges missed the mark by six months, and as new details have emerged, there doesn’t look to be much progress on their next record.
Of course, this is no sign of any diminishing credibility in sheer rock awesomeness. Some might argue that the last release was that sign, but I say phooey to the naysayers (it was, after all, their biggest chart showing to date). Still, for those who thought Evil Urges was too technologically filtered or “produced”, there may be some reassurance in the statements given by bassist Tom “Two-Tone Tommy” Blankenship to SPIN.com.
“It’s worlds apart from what we were doing with Evil Urges,” he says regarding the new album. “We’re going back to a similar vibe that we had on the first three records. It’s definitely more laid back than it’s been in a while.”
As for what that means for the sound of the new, self-produced record, expect the whiskey-droll live feel that started MMJ on their road to record players and festivals across the map. “There’s a lot, a lot, a lot of bleed going on,” Blankenship expounds. “It’s got that vibe to it where it sounds like everybody is in the same room.” And they likely are; they’ve moved from the big-budget studio in New York that played home to their last recording sessions to a church near their hometown of Louisville, KY.
So when can we expect this sure-to-be superb work? The word is early-to-May 2011, but be careful if you’re placing bets. Since last reporting on it here, it doesn’t appear that the band has gotten beyond the five tracks they laid down back in the summer. Though, according to Blankenship, that actually makes them one third completed. In defense of their minimal recording time, they have been touring the dickens out of the country and festival scene.
We’ll be sure to let you know when any more information comes out. In the meantime, you can get a peek at one of those five aforementioned tracks, “Circuital”, below. You can also try to catch them during their Terminal 5 residency October 18th to the 22nd, during which they’ll sequentially play one album in their catalogue in its entirety each night. Also, if you haven’t yet, be sure to watch the band’s appearance and subsequent webcast concert on Letterman last night.
My Morning Jacket 2010 Tour Dates:
10/18 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5 – Performing The Tennessee Fire
10/19 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5 – Performing At Dawn
10/21 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5 – Performing It Still Moves
10/22 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5 – Performing Z
10/23 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5 – Performing Evil Urges, and beyond!
10/29 – Louisville, KY @ KFC Yum! Center $
10/31 – New Orleans, LA @ Voodoo Experience
$ = w/ The Louisville Youth Orchestra and Wax Fang