Discover Top Posts Tagged with #circuital

#my morning jacket #victory dance #Circuital #Spotify

My Morning Jacket - Circuital

Whenever I think of Louisville, Kentucky band My Morning Jacket, I think of the episode of American Dad where Stan becomes a devotee of the band and does nothing but listen to them for an extended period of time. It was such a weird premise for an episode of the show, but I’ve always wanted to give the band a listen. I checked out their last album, 2025’s is, and I thought it was a decent little album. I ended up forgetting about it, but I haven’t forgotten about listening to their other material. They’re one of those indie and alternative bands that aren’t quite in the same scene as other bands from the era; they’re the proverbial red-headed stepchild, basically, because they’re outliers in that whole scene. Their sound is tough to categorize, and vocalist / songwriter Jim James is an interesting and eccentric figure in indie rock.

I ended up finding one of their earlier albums, albeit not from the 00s, but one of their earlier albums, nonetheless. I found 2011’s Circuital, and I swear I’ve seen this album cover, but I decided to pick it up after seeing it online. I didn’t know what to expect, since these guys are kind of outliers in the indie world, but I’ll be damned, I really like it. It’s not my favorite album or anything like that, but I quite like it. The album has some slight issues, but they ultimately don’t matter too much. The main issue I have is its sound, at least in that it’s very eclectic. They move through psychedelic, alternative, indie, and folk, just to name a few, and it can be kind of jarring. Every song has a different feel to it, and at 45 minutes, it’s a bit lengthy. Some songs feel a bit too long, but they’re not bad, per se.

Like I said, this album isn’t my favorite album that I’ve been into lately, but I still enjoy it. Not everything I’m into at any given moment can be number one, but this is still worth hearing. There’s a lot to enjoy, especially the vocals and the sound. Jim James has a haunting and hypnotizing presence on the mic, regardless of where the sound goes. I like hearing his voice throughout the album, although he has a unique sound to it. I guess I can see why Stan was obsessed with My Morning Jacket in that episode, because they’ve got a cult-like fanbase that seems to follow their every move, but they’re also a band that the mainstream kind of ignores. I’ve always found that odd, because they’re still a popular band, they’re just not a household name like a lot of other indie / folk bands. I don’t think this is their best album, but it’s still really damn good.