#reviewoftheweek / My Morning Jacket - The Waterfall

Somehow you never know what to expect from My Morning Jacket, but at the same time you end up getting exactly what is expected. Their latest album is a masterpiece of dreamy, ethereal, and other-worldly indie jam rock. They are walking the tightrope between hippie and hipster so well, that you never know exactly who their target audience is. And that is exactly why MMJ are awesome. The album's centerpiece has to be "Compound Fracture" which is also probably the hardest rocker of the bunch. "Big Decisions" which was the album's first single and "Spring (Among The Living)" are two of the more accessible tracks on the album, which will probably see the most radio play. But the mastery of this album won't truly be understood until these songs are let loose live on stage. You can hear the nuances in each and every track and know just when the band will break out into a jam session or change it up or be sporadic within each song. The best part about it all is that the sound is complete organic, and it doesn't sound overly produced or manipulated. It's going to garner lots of praise and most likely get nominated for a bunch of awards, because it truly is one of the year's best releases.