6/10

After taking a couple of extended breaks over the last decade, largely so that frontman Jim James could pursue more of his solo work, My Morning Jacket have found themselves back in a more prolific light. After returning last year to release 'The Waterfall II', the companion piece to their 2015 LP 'The Waterfall', the band are already moving onto the next stage of their musical evolution as they drop their self-titled ninth studio album, a record that is more about looking to the future than reviving their formative selves.

With a lack of live show options for the band throughout the last year, a new venture was always going to surface eventually, and 'My Morning Jacket' aims to showcase where the group plan on heading musically from now on. With a lesser emphasis on the broad and sprawling atmosphere they are usually known for, and instead opting for a more driven and riff-focused sound, this new collection is broad and more adventurous listen than what we were expecting. While it sometimes struggles to find a distinctive sound to follow, there are still a number of great and ambitious moments threaded throughout.

It doesn't quite generate the same grandeur that we usually expect from this lot, but still looks to mesmerise and engage as often as possible. There are wonderfully bold and expressive moments on this new full-length, but also shows that this new phase of My Morning Jacket isn't something that can be rushed out in a moment's notice.