My Morning Jacket "There's a theme of moral confusion that runs through the whole record," says Jim James, frontman of My Morning Jacket, explaining the title of the band's new album, Evil Urges. "The world today is such a confused place. Things that people think are good values are obviously twisted, but there are other things considered evil that obviously aren't. There is real evil out there, but Evil Urges is about how all of these things that you've been told are evil really aren't, unless they're actually hurting something or somebody." It's ambitious territory for the group's fifth full-length studio album, and it's matched by the most far-ranging, surprising, and satisfying sounds of their career. From the freak-funk electro-slam of "Highly Suspicious" to the contemplative "Sec Walkin'," which could almost be a Nashville standard, on Evil Urges, My Morning Jacket display the scope and fearlessness that demonstrates their growth into one of the world's great rock & roll bands. One key to attaining these new heights was a change of scenery. The band recorded their first three albums—the independent releases The Tennessee Fire (1999) and At Dawn (2001), and their 2003 ATO debut It Still Moves—in their home studio outside of Louisville, Kentucky. These records established the signature MMJ sound, mixing soaring harmonies with cascading, psychedelic guitars, and drenching the whole thing in head-ringing reverb. For their last studio album, 2005's widely acclaimed Z, they headed to Allaire Studios at the foot of the Catskill Mountains. Working with producer John Leckie, they crafted a more eclectic blend of sounds, bringing James's vocals further forward and adding reggae, soul, and pure pop into their gumbo. $56.00