At Dawn

 (48 customer reviews)

A recent MOJO alerted me to My Morning Jacket. Though "At Dawn" is a couple of years old, it has just been released on this side of the Atlantic.A dreamy, soaring collection of songs, "At Dawn" is achingly beautiful and the title is oh so appropriate; there is a slightly unreal edge to the songs, they seem to shimmer in the new day's light. Beautifully arranged and played the songs are a delight. Melodic, hypnotic and arresting the songs have a lived in, yet brand new, feel. The key, however, is Jim James.His voice pushes the songs right to the edge, investing them with a thrilling and stirring emotional depth. He has one of those rare voices - part country, part rock, part soul - that is a mix of ability and emotion. Think vintage Rick Danko and Richard Manuel.CDs can be fraught things: all too often a band with 40 great minutes releases 74 mediocre minutes, because, well, they can. It's rare to find a full length - or as good as full length - CD...Read more

Having seen My Morning Jacket live a couple of times, both as a full band and as the Jim James solo act, I was eager to hear this album. This, MMJ's second full length, is a truly great follow-up to The Tennessee Fire. It is a little more laid back, a little more country-influenced, but not so much as to depart from their signature mix of pop, rock, and alt-country. The best part of this new album is that a second cd is included with the original versions of the songs as laid down by Jim with just his guitar. It offers us the chance to hear how the band sounds as a whole and as Jim's solo project. The bottom line is: if you like melancholy music with just enough fun and happiness to keep you interested, if you like melody and amazing vocal work, if you like good, earthy music, this is for you. However, if you're not very much into country, I recommend you start with their first LP, The Tennessee Fire, and work your way into this one. Wonderful music all around.

Figured this review section could use some non-Kentucky commentary, though it's certainly good to see that the band still has a strong regional following after all this time.This album [drew] me in, as none other really has in a very long time. I've been very jaded lately about new music, not that any that I listen to is very poor: more like, none of it stands out very far in my mind, lately. This one is different, somehow....first of all, Jim's voice is just about as good as it gets for the kind of twang he puts into his performances. It's utterly fitting of the style of down-home music they play, and yet it's not a pure-country voice by a stretch. (Like the voice of someone who is country whether they like it or not, sort of like I am by heritage.) Anyway, the man has pipes and he makes very dynamic use of it throughout this long (73 minutes!) album. Secondly, the production on this album is superior....fans of the Tennessee Fire will notice a HUGE difference between the way...Read more