My Morning Racket

Like The White Stripes and The Black Keys, My Morning Jacket rode the ’00s retro-rock train to commercial heights that— while modest by ’70s and ’80s standards— afforded them a staying power well beyond their indie status. Unlike their color-coded competitors, however, MMJ always had a lot more than microwaved Howlin’ Wolf and Junior Kimbrough on the menu. The shimmer ‘n’ twang of At Dawn and It Still Moves,the Bonnaroo-bred oomph of Z and Evil Urges— the steadfast Louisville quintet made Southern rock sound more alive than it has since The Allman Brothers Band first explored the Venn diagram of Americana. They hit an agreeable plateau over the last decade or so, but frontman Jim James returns to career heights with his sixth solo effort. Uniform Distortion eschews production gimmickery for solid songwriting, presented without fuss… but with plenty of fuzz. The lo-fi aesthetic is meant to represent misinformation in the internet age, or to quote James: “this blanket distortion on society/media and the way we gather our news and important information.” Hence the album’s title. Truth may be distorted, but James’s voice cuts through the atmosphere like a bloodhound with a megaphone. When he cuts loose at the end of “Just a Fool,” belting tuneful nonsense over a stack of buzzing guitars, MMJ fans and newcomers alike will agree: Jim James is one of the last great rock & roll singers, and he’s still in his prime.