Split EPs. What's the point? Not eclectic enough to be enjoyed as a sampler, too confining to be much of an extended statement, and too long to highlight the strength of a single song like a seven-inch could, they tend to come off like pathetic time-stalling ploys between albums or repositories for second-rate (or worse) material. But, as with all things, there are exceptions. And this, my friends, is a big one.
Within the realm of country-leaning indie rock, one will be hard pressed to find three better songs from My Morning Jacket than the three they lead this record off with. And the lone Songs: Ohia track, though more of a completist affair typical to these kinds of releases, is nothing to scoff at, either.
What My Morning Jacket confronts us with here is a band on top of its game. Though any discussion of these guys will almost assuredly bring up their sounding like somewhere been Neil Young and the Flaming Lips, the whole truth is they sound like a lot of classic bands and artists-- ranging from the Allman Brothers to Television-- but in the final summation, they sound like no one but themselves.
"O Is the One That Is Real" is the kind of song a well-wishing fan would hope they'd release as a college radio single from an album, instead of on a split EP that'll likely be overlooked at the end of the day. It's a song that positively could break the band to a wider audience, easily bettering anything the band has recorded so far. It has the mark of a classic stamped all over it: a catchy but slippery guitar riff, slightly anthemic lyrics, and powerful, confident delivery. An attention-grabbing snare crack kicks off the song before singer/guitarist Jim James wails, in his reverb-drenched, honey-n'-whiskey-soaked voice, "Always leave your television on/ Always keep your answers by the phone..." By the time the song's reached its peak, with James singing his guts out, "The radio will play" over and over again, you find yourself un-self-consciously singing along, and maybe even dusting off the old air guitar. In one fell swoop, it eliminates years of indie rock indoctrination forbidding all non-ironic displays of enjoyment and identification. And it's a beautiful and liberating thing.
"How Do You Know" is a quasi-ballad with amazing if perplexing lyrics that manage to be evocative despite themselves: "Who fanned the fire that burned down the lake? One, two, three, four things I'd rather forget." The songs builds in a similar fashion to the first, with a great dual guitar solo and a classic-rockish drum fill bridge that comes off as completely necessary.
"Come Closer" is a full-on ballad with no apologies, and though it may sound more like a Neil Young song than anything of My Morning Jacket's previous work, they pull it off like Crazy Horse-- I can say with a fair amount of confidence that it would have made a great b-side for "Heart of Gold," had that space not already been occupied by "Sugar Mountain." The subject is love and longing (what else?), and James has never sounded more genuinely forlorn. And that's no small statement for a man who once sung, "When dark touches your skull, you can dump that on me."
After a 2\xBD-minute palette-cleansing track which sounds like the first three songs sped up and reversed, Songs: Ohia evens out the EP with a 10-minute version of "Be Your Own Guide," a song that appeared as an untitled track in a vastly different form on last year's live album, Me Sei Apparso Come Un Fantasma. A sparse, acoustic jam session captured to tape by Paul Oldham at his studio in Shelbyville, Kentucky, it's notable for featuring his brother, the Bonnie Prince himself, and Appendix Out's Ali Roberts. But, before you wet yourself, it should be noted that Will Oldham's backup vocals are mixed low in the background (we're talking the next room here) and his words are few and far between. Even so, his voice is unmistakable, even at a distance, and his harmonizing with Ohia frontman Jason Molina on the Emersonian title/refrain is stark and moving. It may not be the dream match-up fans have envisioned since Songs: Ohia released its first single on Palace records so long ago, but it is far more affecting than you might expect.
And so, what we end up with is a split EP of another breed-- one on which actual talent meets top-shelf songwriting, rather than the usual we-found-this-one-in-the-closet contributions. Showcasing both bands at what is, thus far, their artistic apexes, the record is well worth its $7.49 sticker price. And that's a hell of a lot more than you could say for Rancid and NOFX's BYO Split Series, Vol. III.
