My Morning Jacket and Fleet Foxes

I haven't blogged in a week and I've bought four albums since then, so here is a two-for-one.

Evil Urges, the new My Morning Jacket album, is a bit of a mixed bag. They well-publicized the fact that they were trying some new ideas such as funk/R&B/soul elements. They lay all of it out on the table during the first 3 tracks: "Evil Urges" is a great rock song that has Jim James singing way above his range, "Touch Me And I'm Going To Scream (Pt 1)" features some hypnotizing electronic beats, and "Highly Suspicious" is... I don't even know what to say here. That song works only on a "humorously bad" level for me - Prince-mocking vocals, hair metal guitar solos - it's the most bad ideas I've heard in one song this year.

Once they go back to what they do well, the album gets better. "I'm Amazed" is a great pop-rock single with a sing-along chorus. "Smoken From Shooten" is one of their best epic ballads - it would fit nicely into It Still Moves. "Aluminum Park" is the kind of jam-rocker I was hoping to hear more of.

Overall, Evil Urges is this year's version of Wilco's Sky Blue Sky - it's a decent record from a band we all know is capable of much more. It is worth buying if you are a My Morning Jacket fan already; otherwise, go get their last album, Z.

What would this album sound like if they developed their backup vocals and stayed on an Americana path? It might sound like the glorious debut record from the Fleet Foxes. Adding to an already great year for debut records (Bon Iver, Vampire Weekend), this band is more than worth the hype - think old My Morning Jacket plus 70s Beach Boys plus Sufjan Stevens Michigan. I know, it's hard to imagine.

"Ragged Wood" is a multi-section suite of a pop song that sounds like the Flaming Lips plus bluegrass with more singers. "Tiger Mountain Peasant Song" is as sad and beautiful as its title is pretentious. "White Winter Hymnal" is an achievement in vocal harmony. My favorite moment is "He Doesn't Know Why", which proves the next generation of indie rock knows exactly who Brian Wilson is.

Between the Fleet Foxes and last year's Panda Bear album, the spirit of the Beach Boys is back, and I couldn't be happier. Thank you Fleet Foxes for picking up My Morning Jacket's slack.