'Circuital' is electric

My Morning Jacket’s first new album in three years, “Circuital,” is touted as a return to form after the divided reception of its 2008 album “Evil Urges.”

Although the album does try to go back to the roots of their old sound of mega-reverb and guitar-driven southern rock, in many ways “Circuital” still sounds like the band after its “It Still Moves” era.  

The album opens with “Victory Dance,” a groove-oriented song that continues on the spiritual themes heavily featured in “Evil Urges,” with lyrics of a god-like being viewing earth from above.

The album experiments, but not as much as “Evil Urges.” A pedal steel guitar is featured in many songs to force a country twang into the album. “Wonderful (The Way I Feel)” is an example of this: a soft ballad that features James’ best vocal delivery on the album.

Overall, the album is on par with their last release and has much to offer, but it never really hits the highs of their earlier work.

It sounds like Jim James is still a strong songwriter, but a lot of his emotion and charm has diminished and been replaced with clichés. This isn’t always the case, though.
The final song, “Movin’ Away,” is about just that: a person’s struggle with leaving an old life for a new one and its difficulties.  

This album is still much better than most anything you will hear coming out this year, and My Morning Jacket is still on top of its game.

By Tony Fowler