My Morning Jacket

Z (ATO)

Jim James’ Iron John howls are all the “Wordless Chorus” needed on MMJ’s fourth and most concise full-length. His trademark cry mirrors a global moan in the mounting mess of humanity. His earthy, engaging imagery on “Into the Woods” (“a kitten on fire, a baby in a blender, both sound as sweet as a night of surrender”) further disjoints already surrealistic modern times. Happily, the divine accusation of “Gideon” flares into the Tennessee quintet’s three-guitar sunburst even as following bash “What a Wonderful Man” is an under-two-minute surprise party. The Hawaii Five-O stomp of “Off the Record” pounds keys before floating off into a Wilco-esque inner space, while “Anytime” finally cuts loose Yoshimi-like, righteously. The deeply thumping “Lay Low” riffs delicious. Not as big and bright as 2003’s It Still Moves, yet with the early-career sprawl edited out, Z‘s as lovingly worn as a vintage clothing score. Communion ends with more whimper (“Knot Comes Loose”) than bang, summoning the moody restlessness of 1999 debut The Tennessee Fire and the drunken, endlessly backwoods cry of 2001’s At Dawn, but then with 2005 having already shrugged off A through X&Y, the buck stops at Z. (My Morning Jacket blazes La Zona Rosa Thursday, Nov. 17.)

***.5

This article appears in October 21 • 2005.

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San Francisco native Raoul Hernandez crossed the border into Texas on July 2, 1992, and began writing about music for the Chronicle that fall, debuting with an album review of Keith Richards’ Main Offender. By virtue of local show previews – first “Recommendeds,” now calendar picks – his writing’s appeared in almost every issue since 1993.