“Evil Urges” (ATO): A-
Aside from its geographical origins in Kentucky, there’s no sense at all in categorizing My Morning Jacket as Southern rock anymore. On “Evil Urges,” leader Jim James and his band are far too ambitious, sonically and stylistically, to neatly fit into any genre box. Yet the strength of their new songs has less to do with the shots of prog -rock complexity and crazy falsetto funk than in MMJ’s embrace of classic pop/rock. Heck, “Aluminum Park” could have been a rock radio hit in the ’70s, and the ballad “Librarian” might have stormed the Top 40 in the same decade. But “Evil Urges” is in no way a retro exercise. Timeless good listening is more like it. Download: “Evil Urges.”
