As I prepare for my jaw-dropping best-of-the-year mix, I've begun listening to all albums in contention for a spot on the mix. In some cases my favorite albums have held up well months later. But in the case of The Ruby Suns' album from this year, I decided I'd rather have the $4.00 Amoeba credit than have the album take up space on my shelf. It's not a bad album at all. Pretty good actually. But I don't need to own it.
That brings me to the new My Morning Jacket album. I'm a huge MMJ fan. Most people first started hearing them on a national scale after their "break through" Z. I got into them on "It Still Moves" and promptly bought all the earlier albums. Although I think Z may be their most complete album it was also my least favorite of theirs. You know that whole "it's best but I don't love it" argument. Now the new one "Evil Urges" is a different beast altogether. I hadn't listen to it since it first came out and hearing it again after all these months, I'm convinced of one thing: ADULT CONTEMPORARY. Now I don't mean that in a bad way exactly. I'm as big a fan of catchy MOR music as any soccer mom. But when your first album sounds like a buncha guys fucking around on acoustic guitars at 3AM drunk off Bourbon in a Kentucky barn, it's a bit unsettling to hear an album full of songs that you may hear at the gas station or in your local Rite Aid... Speaking of which, I actually HAVE heard "Thank You Too!" at my supermarket.
I find it all extremely pleasant, but for the sake of their artistic careers, I hope they don't come out with another album for 10 years. Because the next one will probably do worse than rip off Green Day melodies (as in Urges' "Two Halves"). The fact is, the elevator-leanings of some of this album are damn great compared to miscalculated genre-exercises like "Highly Suspicious." Hey I love Prince-aping. After all, Ween's one of my favorite groups ever. But this song is just bad. It's the sort of tune that would be a splendid little B-Side or live excursion but as Song 3? Oooh. Bad choice. MMJ have never been a great album band though, so I guess they're forgiven. "It Still Moves" would've been an absolute masterpiece as a 45 minute album but at 71 minutes, it more than overstays its welcome.
It may not seem like it from this post, but I still haven't thrown Evil Urges off my best of the year list. When it's good, it's great. The last third is mostly all stellar. "Remnants," "Smokin from Shootin," Touch Me I'm Going to Scream pt 1 and 2" are unabashedly solid tunes. Plus I really enjoy the MOR songs for their catchy melodies and smooth FM Gold sounds. So who knows if you'll see an Evil Urges track on your mix this year. I'm viewing it now as the alternate to the basketball team. If the starters are having a solid blow-out kind of game, maybe there will be enough time to give MMJ the benefit of the doubt.
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I hear ya on the Ruby Suns...seemed like they had it in the bag in terms of sunny beach boys-esque toonz, but then that dark horse Fleet Foxes came galloping over the horizon and...yeah. Pretty much obliterated anyone who might want to do a block harmony from now till forever.
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