My Morning Jacket, Shepherd’s Bush Empire

Rejoice, fans of beards, reverb and guitar hoedowns, for My Morning Jacket are back! It’s been four long years since the Kentucky’s five-piece’s last album – the well-received Circuital (2011) – but now they are ready to unleash The Waterfall, followed by an already recorded but as-yet-titled second record next year. To support their return, they will be playing the 02 Empire in Shepherd’s Bush. Over the past decade, their live show has required a legendary reputation – in the words of Pitchfork’s Amanda Petrusich, their concerts “can recalibrate your gut, [they] can change you” – and there’s every reason to believe that nothing has changed during their hiatus from the studio.
My Morning Jacket’s sound has always revolved around the rich, ingratiating vocals of Jim James, but they also have a whole band dynamic that evokes the rock gods of the 70s, buoyed by James and Carl Broemel’s double-guitar assault, Two-Tone Tommy and Patrick Hallahan’s rhythmic clout and Bo Kaster’s dreamy keyboard landscapes. When they first appeared, they seemed cast as an otherworldly folk-rock outfit, but by 2003’s It Still Moves they had learnt to embrace soaring choruses and rollicking guitar solos. Just listen to centerpiece ‘One Big Holiday’, whose anthemic chorus gives way to a strastospheric instrumental passage worthy of Lynyrd Skynyrd.
With Z (2005), they consolidated their position as one of indie’s most diverse and exploratory bands, with synth-led dream pop like ‘Gideon’ sharing space with the reggae-inflected ‘Off the Record’ and the psychedelic soul of ‘It Beats For You.’ On subsequent releases, the double-album Evil Urges (2008) and Circuital, they’ve delved headfirst into southern rock and falsetto-led funk. New single ‘Big Decisions’, our first glimpse of The Waterfall, already sounds like a modern classic, melding Fleetwood Mac-esque pop melodies with their characteristic golden glow. If you’re a fan, this gig will be a date with destiny; if not, there’s never been a better time to delve into their sterling catalogue.