At Dawn - My Morning Jacket

I was scrabbling around this morning, late for work, a dry piece of toast clamped in my mouth, looking for some music to listen to in the car, when, to my delight, I came upon this.

I remembered buying it back in 2001, remembered reading the glowing reviews at the time with references of Neil Young meets the Flaming Lips, holding it in my hand and thinking that I would make time to savour it, but, you know what, ten years later and I dont ever remember really listening to it. So, sliding it into my CD player, I decided that today was going to be the day to change that.

Lets not mess about, its easy to see why this album has been hailed as a modern American classic. From the opening salvo of the title track which eases in with its dreamy, shoegazing refrain to the Lynyrd Skynyrd-esque country rock of 'Honest Man' and the Sabbath-like guitar riffs of "Strangulation" its easy to see that the band, or more so primary songwriter, guitarist and vocalist, Jim James, are heavily indebted to the past and are not in any way shy of wearing their/his heart, and influences, upon their/his plaid sleeves.

At Dawn is full of the same strumming acoustic guitar, hauntingly treated vocals, elements of country and blues, and everything else that made their previous album, The Tennessee Fire, a magnificent country, rock, and Americana stew and one of my favourite albums of the past few years. Only here, they take it up a notch, expanding their sound and throwing a host of different elements in the melting pot. The track 'Lowdown' floats along on chiming guitars and a poppy '60s-inspired vibe. There are hints reggae on 'Phone Went West' (the albums only low point in my view) and R&B on 'Just Because I Do' all of which, to me, only enhance the bands appeal. 

Then, there is the true highlight of this (and every other MMJ album before and after) and that is the truly magnificent voice of James. Sounding like an amalgamation of Neil Young and heartbroken balladeers such as Roy Orbison and Gene Pitney, his reverb drenched vocals soak through every track, his voice steeped in hurt and emotion but nevertheless keeping his songs just the right side of uplifting.

In summing up, this is a great record. Granted, its not wholy original and, as Ive mentioned, the influences are there for anyone to hear. But, I feel that that just adds to its charm. It brims with warmth and excitement, and to know that there are still true musicians out there, honing their craft to the gods of a by-gone era, instead of praying to the money grabbing one hit wonder machine of the music charts, makes it all the better.

Further Listening:

Everything All The Time - Band of Horses

Alligator - The National

Veckatimest - Grizzly Bear

Yonder the Clock - The Felice Brothers

The Trials of Van Occupanter - Midlake