MY MORNING JACKET - CIRCUITAL - MY TAKE

I have mixed feelings about My Morning Jacket.  On one hand, I really respect their ambition: they seem to be one of the "indie" bands out there who are really ambitious creatively.  At the same time, they don't seem to have a problem with being successful and playing large venues.  Another thing I respect about them is that they appeal equally to hippies and hipsters.  This band is at home at Bonnaroo or Coachella.

Sometimes they strike me as musical health food though: I know it's good for me to listen to them, but I don't really enjoy it. I'm starting to realize that they are a great band, and are a taste you develop.  Also, they're not the kind of band you're always in the mood for.

That said, "Victory Dance," which leads off their new album, Circuital, is a perfect song for a sundown. The other day, I ran six miles.  When I finished and walked a bit to cool down, the sun was actually setting and I put this song in. Perfect.  I don't smoke, but people who run know the sort of high after you finish a long run, and experiencing that, a beautiful sunset and "Victory Dance' was an incredible combination.

The other song on the album that really stands out to me is "Holdin' On To Black Metal."  With a choir of young girls and a horn section, it's not very black metal.  It's not very metal at all!  But it is a great tune.  It's funny to me that a hippie indie band would sing a song about black metal. I wonder how many non-indie rock bands would sing songs about indie rock. I'm OK with it though: it doesn't sound like they are mocking metal.

Anyway, I'll recommend the album, but only if you have time to listen to the record a few times to absorb it.  As I mentioned, I respect the band (I also named frontman Jim James one of the best artists of the '00s) and they are at least worth checking out.