Written by Chris Osifchin
When The New Basement Tapes record and its accompanying documentary were released in November 2014, I couldn’t wait to hear more of Jim James. Something about his music and his style really touch something in my soul. A few new songs were not enough. The My Morning Jacket maestro released a solid solo album in 2013, but 2014 came and went without a hint at anything new from he and the band. Four years and two non-MMJ albums later, James and company release The Waterfall, a sprawling epic of love and loss, struggle and catharsis.
More than any of My Morning Jacket’s previous albums, this one feels deeply personal. James admitted as much in a recent interview with Rolling Stone saying, “They are influenced by specific situations, but I’d rather not talk about it, because I want love in my life. In recent years, I’ve been trying to figure out ‘What have I done wrong in every relationship I’ve been in until now?’ and tried to make them better.” During the recording sessions at Stinson Beach in Northern California, James hurt himself lifting an amp and had to get surgery for a herniated disc. One of the album’s standouts, “Compound Fracture,” comes off as a direct response to that situation.
James tackles some heavy subjects right off the bat on “Believe (Nobody Knows).” A playful existential romp, the song’s refrain “Believe, nobody knows for sure” seems to point to a crisis of faith. Does anything you do actually matter? My Morning Jacket answers the question with the an attitude and playfulness nothing short of Bonnaroovian (all the more fitting with their return to the farm this summer). James sings, “Roll the dice that sail the ship then all the world will open,” a beautiful reminder to stay open to opportunities that rise from the road to meet you.
Known for their spectacular live shows, My Morning Jacket is fully capable of harnessing that elusive magical feeling that permeates their sets. Nowhere is it more apparent than on “Compound Fracture.” Like a voice from heaven, James parts the cloud cover and sings “There is life in love and sound/get as much as you can and keep around/’fore they put you into the ground.” This could directly describe what it feels like to be at a My Morning Jacket show, with the crowd soaking up the vibes descending from the stage. It’s such a signature MMJ sound – reverb drenched vocals and ethereal soundscape. And it works.
All the loving and pondering of life’s big questions returns to a rather earthly dimension in the acoustic number “Get The Point.” A wistful tune with a bit of country twang, and one of the most personal, matter of fact songs on the album, the song describes the end of a relationship. It’s instantly relatable for anyone who’s been on either side of a broken heart – breaker or breakee. Sometimes when your lover just wants to hang on, you have to tell it like it is, and My Morning Jacket delivers the news.
Closing out the album is “Only Memories Remain,” a fitting bookend to “Believe (Nobody Knows).” When all you have is your thoughts, your words, your memories, what does it matter if you don’t know anything at all, if you don’t know that it matters? What you do know is that your memories were real, they happened and they’re going to live forever in your brain. This matters. As James sings, “Our earthly bodies will surely fall/but the love we share outlives us all/What’s done is done at the end of the day/But still, those memories remain.” For better or for worse.
Rating: 8/10
My Morning Jacket’s ‘Waterfall’ is currently available on iTunes.
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Great review of a great album.