Capitalist Pig Tuesdays

A very light load this week, as there are absolutely no viable movie purchases (or any other special category items as well). However, there is one high profile release this week that is definitely worth a gander, if you dare!

Album of the week: My Morning Jacket's Evil Urges

My Morning Jacket is a strange band to me. Many media outlets raved about them, bloggers could not stop talking about them, my mom absolutely adores them. And there I am, constantly wondering "what's the big deal?" I dug the instruments, especially on tracks like "One Big Holiday" and especially when performed on their live album Okonokos.

Then one day last month I was listening to my ipod at work and a song came on that caught my ear. It was "Off the Record" off their massively adored album Z. I was hooked, and since I've become a big fan of that album and the band overall. Just in time for the release of their new album Evil Urges.

Now if you listen to some reviewers, this album is the beginning of the end for the band. What do I think? As a fan of music, it's the first time I've listened to a MMJ album and thought "damn, this is good" right off the bat. As someone who recently got into the band and is now familiar with older material I think "it's a little different, but still good." Sure, tracks like "Highly Suspicious" are a bit off the beaten path. Sure "Thank You Too!" may sound like their attempt at a wedding ballad.

But they're all delightful tracks full of the MMJ spark, with the southern fried charm they add to the alternative rock formula being on full display on tracks like "I'm Amazed" and "Touch Me I'm Going to Scream, pt. 1," every bit as relevant and fantastic as they were on other albums. It's an extremely diverse album, with wildly different directions being taken from track to track. This in my opinion is not a crime, but is the sign of a band that doesn't want to be pigeonholed as any one thing, and of a band that doesn't want to settle into a groove (or rut, depending on your angle).

With all that said, I consider this album to be a out and out success for the band, and really shows their talent as musicians and as songwriters. At this point, their next release could be any genre and I wouldn't be surprised. That's a very rare sight out of a band these days.

Click here to stream the album, totally legal and free.