My Morning Jacket

The Waterfall

(ATO Records)

THIS seventh studio album from the Kentucky five-piece was recorded mostly in an ocean-side studio in northern California and the setting has left its mark both in the constant allusions to water and nature, and in the musical spirits the songs often invoke - the melodic guitar rock of the Steve Miller Band, say, or the nostalgic, slightly mystical balladry of The Eagles.

There are lapses, particularly on the less experimental songs. The mostly acoustic Get The Point can't decide whether it wants to be Gentle On My Mind or the theme tune from Midnight Cowboy, and by the seventh minute of closing track Only Memories Remain, a soul-flavoured slow jam, you've more than got the point.

But it's when the band revs the throttle a little and sets off into the unknown that things become interesting. In Its Infancy (The Waterfall), the closest thing to a title track, blends grandiose themes with an operatic space-rock feel, while the almost-funky Compound Fracture is a smooth, seamless stomper in the mould of vintage Steely Dan. Holding it all together, and giving even the weaker songs some considerable heft, are the vocals and lyrics of singer-songwriter Jim James, which ooze both confidence and intellect.

Barry Didcock