Z

Japanese pressing of their 2005 album features one bonus track, 'Chills' which was previously available on the US Vinyl version of 'Z' and as a European B-side to the first single 'Off the Record'. While much of Z comes as a shock, even the surprises should seem perfectly natural in hindsight. The combination of the hushed, indie balladry of their early records with the spacious guitar rock of their last was to be expected, but My Morning Jacket's recent history all but demands the newer, more exotic rhythms and textures on Z, which makes it clear that this is a great band, doing great things who've been playing it safe until now. Z is an ambitious leap of faith into a new frontier where the old rules don't apply, and My Morning Jacket seem perfectly happy to write their own. 11 tracks in total. BMG. 2005.

Two years and a pair of band members have passed since My Morning Jacket's last album, and the respite seems to have reinvented the Louisville, Ky., band and its leader Jim James. Shelved are the boogie-soaked country and hard-stomping metal of the first three records--assuring that all links to Lynyrd Skynyrd are hereby obsolete--and the sleek maturation of James's wailing, echoing falsetto may have even nullified the Neil Young comparisons. Using the guitar as a complement more than as a weapon, songwriter James has simplified the sound where keyboards take the lead and choruses play like a '70s AM radio. While songs like "Anytime" and "What a Wonderful Man" channel the old MMJ sound, they do so with less chaos and more spontaneity. That's the trend for the record's best: "Wordless Chorus" and its infectious "aaaah" refrain, the Hawaii Five-O-riffed ska of "Off the Record" and a Stranglers-minded carnival waltz, "Into the Woods." Serving as a pop-music paradigm that change is good, Z is ambitious, groundbreaking and downright impeccable. --Scott Holter