My Morning Jacket - The Waterfall

My Morning Jacket
The Waterfall
2015

When listening to the new album The Waterfall from My Morning Jacket I am of two minds. On one hand everything about the record is quite beautiful. The tones are pitch perfect and everything is in a place right where it should be. The album is expertly crafted to create a vibe of organic vividness. However besides the first track "Believe (Nobody Knows)" there is almost a complete lack of edge. After a first listen all you want is some kind of grit or an aspect of the music to make the listener know that what My Morning Jacket are doing is going to stand up against a hard listen. Much of the album and especially the later third just floats along blending one song into the next quite seamlessly, but those hard notes and those that make you think,, they just aren't there.

There is quite a bit of good on this record, and finding fault is definitely digging in deep. But, with a band like My Morning Jacket and songs like "I'm Amazed" you expect a lot and his album does not deliver on all the fronts. The record leaves me wanting more, more power, more grit and more energy as a whole. There is absolutely a great deal within this record, but finding it will take quite a bit more than a simple listen. The Waterfall is worth your time, so don't miss it, but will you fall in love with this album? I'm not sure...

6.8 out of 10