There's a sentence in the liner notes for At Dawn that says, "Thanks to all the people giving us a chance to play our rock n roll in this bleeping buzzing world." That got me to thinking, sometimes music has to be appreciated in a certain context. I saw My Morning Jacket play a show recently in Washington, D.C. Their twangy sounds seemed out of place that night, packed into a tiny club in an urban area, with car alarms blaring outside. I wanted to be kicked back on a lawn chair, sipping some MGD and wiping at sweat while these guys played from an outdoor bandstand. Something about the setting made it seem a more appropriate venue for bleeping and buzzing than alt-country.
I'm glad I can give the band a second chance. Louisville, Kentucky's My Morning Jacket have packed the 74 minutes of this CD with 14 honest, straight up rock songs. Don't be confused by claims from the record label, though, that, "This is what those Palace-whozits and indie-Americana popniks all wish their albums sounded like." Most of the pieces have an upbeat, positive attitude, and even the slower folk songs don't attempt tortured Oldham-isms. The first song and title track actually teases with a half-minute of doomed, Palace-esque reverb and slow percussion, but warmth enters with acoustic guitar strumming and frontman Jim James' rich croon.
James has a strong, unique voice, and his only fault is that he stretches out each note about as far as possible, and on the highest notes something curdles in the back of his throat and he sounds like Kermit the frog. Here, his lyrics deviate oddly from the rest of his efforts: "They'll haul you out to the streets/ They'll burn your papers and your empty trash cans/ Beat this thought into your head/ "All your life is obscene"/ But that's when my knife rises/ Their life ends and my life starts again."
James doesn't address that 'us vs. them' paranoia much-- he's much more the lover type, always singing about his girl. Yeah, the lyrics to "Lowdown" have been soaking in the trite barrel too long ("Chancin'/ Glance in/ Sho' nuff mood for romancin'"), but they're as simple as the beautiful delay effect of the pedal steel guitar notes that make this song sound so great. "The Way That He Sings" is full of wonder about the way songs and relationships affect us, and it's propelled by a foot-tapping snare and pleasant vocal harmonies between the guys in the band.
"Just Because I Do" is all about drum crashes, angular guitar lines and harmonica, and shares that uplifting, devil-may-care quality that's the secret to a lot of good country and R&B.; The quieter numbers later on sound more like demos, featuring little more than James' plaintive vocals and careful picking. "If It Smashes Down" actually unsettles its innocent opening with a description of "a really fast, risky ride at the fair." Any chance of a carnival-like atmosphere is dispelled by his hesitant whimpers and howls.
I wish My Morning Jacket had more of these surprises hidden in their plaid sleeves. "Honest Man" tries to lasso the "classic" Stevie Ray Vaughn blues instrumental but falls short. The solo doesn't quite go nowhere, but it's a path you've been dragged down before. Likewise, James rides the "Sometimes I walk around town lookin' at faces/ Wonderin' why their bodies go to silly places," loner device into the ground. But the hidden instrumental track at the end redeems it all; each note takes on a sense of jumbled autonomy, like the music of Songs: Ohia.
If you can, pick up the two-disc version of this album. The second disc is a collection of demos, some of which appear as full songs on At Dawn, and some of which are unreleased. It's not essential, but the feeling of intimacy is unparalleled. There's something about voice and acoustic guitar together that creates the impression of fullness. Maybe it's Trevor hollAnd's rich production. Regardless, My Morning Jacket could be the perfect soundtrack to a summer road trip, or just something you wrap around yourself on the way to work each morning.
