My Morning Jacket
Z

THE REVIEW

Originally from Kentucky, MMJ have been active for many years now and have released three albums before this one, "Z" (the others being "The Tennessee Fire" from 1999, "At Dawn" from 2001, and "It Still Moves" from 2003), which arrived in stores almost at Christmas. Some may already know them by name because a certain Dave Grohl has almost always mentioned them in interviews as one of his favorite bands.

Away with the gossip, the music of MMJ is an original blend of country (a little), ethereal rock, psychedelic pop, and more, and "Z" is their sonic manifesto, with all musical elements perfectly balanced. "Gideon", "What A Wonderful Man", "Off The Record" are gems of playful and ecstatic pop-rock, played with flawless technique. A very transversal musical/emotional attitude, a care for album artwork (especially in this one where the booklet overflows with colorful and very visionary drawings) are the characteristic traits of the Americans. The second half of the album contains two splendid ballads, "Knot Come Loose" and "Dondante", emphatic, expansive, with a psychedelic soul. The jewel, however, is "Lay Low", which in just over six minutes synthesizes all the sounds of the Louisville band, with one of the most beautiful guitar solos of these sad years (I dare say... let me do it) in which rock can be "fashion" but not truly emotional.