My Morning Jacket have released their new album Circuital this week, with front man Jim James also revealing that he’s putting the finishing touches to a new solo album. James says that that’s not to say that he’s planning on taking a long term break from MMJ, however, believing that all he CAN do is play in a band.
“For me, ever since I was a kid, I never really considered any alternative. Part of that is that we’re finally getting to a place where we’re comfortable. We’ve always tried to make music we felt was timeless. We’ve tried to avoid putting certain date stamps on our music. That said, it’s all personal taste. Some people hear music from the ’80s and think it’s dated, but a lot of that music is timeless too. We’ll still be listening to great Peter Gabriel songs and great Prince songs years from now.
He also thinks that the band’s longevity, having formed way back in 1998, is due to the fact that they enjoy being around each other and creating music together. He says “The key to us maintaining longevity is just getting to a place where we enjoy each other. We’ve had a few memberships — not that there’s any grudges against the people who were in the band before, but we’ve been lucky to navigate through all that. Carl [Broemel] and Bo [Koster] are no longer new members. They’ve been in the band since 2004, longer than most bands have been around. We’re a really tight little family. It’s not like thinking of doing another My Morning Jacket record is some horrible ordeal to go through. It’s a wonderful thing.”
To celebrate the release of Circuital this week, the band held a live webcast from the Palace Theatre in their hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. Directed by Velvet Goldmine director Todd Haynes, James also worked with Haynes on the Bob Dylan inspired loose biopic I’m Not There, where he sang Dylan’s ‘Goin To Acapulco’ from the Basement Tapes.
You can stream Circuital online here
