ROB SCHMITZ, HOST:
The Louisville band My Morning Jacket is known for epic, moody, guitar-driven ballads that feel tailored for live shows. In fact, the band has made a name for itself for its captivating performances with spontaneous guitar jams and evocative vocals. On the band's new album, simply titled "Is," My Morning Jacket takes this formula in a new direction, while keeping their music anchored in the style that made them a breakout act more than two decades ago.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TIME WAITED")
MY MORNING JACKET: (Singing) Well, they say time waits for no one, dear. And it takes near death to show one, yeah. But time waited for you and me.
SCHMITZ: We're joined now by Jim James, vocalist and guitarist for My Morning Jacket. Welcome to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED, Jim and, congrats on the new album.
JIM JAMES: Hey, thanks so much for having me.
SCHMITZ: So I've listened to your music since your first album came out more than 25 years ago now, and I've always associated you guys with a raw live sound. And this album to me felt more studio-centered, in a good way. You know, vocals were up front. The production sounded fresh, almost poppy at times. And this is My Morning Jacket's first album in four years. What was the genesis of this new album? Where did it all start?
JAMES: Well, it was a long, interesting voyage. We had been working on the record for a while. We did two whole sessions where we were trying to do the record and got some cool stuff but weren't kind of getting where we wanted to get and thought it might be cool to try working with a coach, like, somebody who could be somewhat of a guide to us 'cause we had so many ideas and so many - there were just, like, all this input. There was too much. And I was really struck when I met with Brendan and played him some songs.
SCHMITZ: That's Brendan O'Brien, right?
JAMES: Yeah, Brendan O'Brien. Yeah. He just was, like, so focused on the songs in this really amazing, quick way where he was, like, just real quick to say, oh, I don't really care for that one. And then the next one, he'd be like, oh, man, this one's really good. And he always had really constructive ideas about it. And so kind of right out of the gate, I felt like, let's try this, you know, 'cause we'd really never opened ourselves up like that so completely to - for lack of a better word, I keep using it - but it really felt like a coach.
SCHMITZ: So the track we played in the intro, "Time Waited," the first single from the album, feels sort of like an instant classic. Let's take a listen.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TIME WAITED")
MY MORNING JACKET: (Singing) And if we don't watch out - time waited - yeah, and if we don't watch out, time will run off on us. But if we move right now - time waited - all the world's here for us. Ain't no spare time.
SCHMITZ: So, Jim, how does a song begin for you? And how do you see it through from an idea to a whole completed work?
JAMES: For me, at least, there's this really cool 50/50 thing that happens where the idea of the melody or the - or kind of the concept of the song just kind of comes from the universe. I feel like music and love itself are these invisible pieces of architecture that hold up the world. And I think when you are a musician, I guess, somehow, you hear these things in their kind of seed form, I guess, before other people might hear them. So for me, it's always like I get these ideas, but then that other 50% is like, OK, what does Jim have to say about this idea that the universe brought to him, you know?
SCHMITZ: Right.
JAMES: And it's this interesting thing of, like, the universe gives you this seed, but until you take it out and plant in the ground and pour water on it and let the sun shine on it and, you know, hope it grows, you got to do the human work, too, 'cause if you don't do any human work, then the seed doesn't grow.
SCHMITZ: You talked about working with a new producer, or working with a producer - a coach, you said. One song that - where the production value really stood out for me on this album is in a song called "Squid Ink."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SQUID INK")
MY MORNING JACKET: (Singing) Why can't I forget your face? Why can't I forget it? Come on. Why can't I forget your face? Been down in the squid ink too long.
SCHMITZ: Jim, that is one funky groove. It sounds like you guys are having a lot of fun on this. Tell me about that song.
JAMES: It was just kind of born of playing guitar, you know? Like, a lot of times, I'll just sit around and play guitar, you know? And I just kind of was getting this idea of trying to get away from fear, you know, 'cause I feel like the squid shoots ink into the water when it's afraid, you know, and I feel like there's so much fear in the world right now, and there's so much clouding of the water. And I was trying to think of, like, how can I clear things up for myself? And I just kept thinking about this concept of, like, OK, like, that's something I can do for myself that also would benefit the world, if I can find a way to love myself and act out of love rather than fear, you know, and kind of start with myself 'cause I think a lot of us miss that step - you know, myself included, until recently. I've been trying to work on it. And I think we could do a lot more positive work if we started with that love for ourselves.
SCHMITZ: That journey, I mean, has that been a difficult journey for you?
JAMES: It has been a really difficult journey, yeah, 'cause I've struggled with depression most of my life. I'm an alcoholic. And only in the last, I'd say, four or five years have I finally started to make some headway. And I found a great therapist that I've really been benefiting from, and I'm just starting to kind of grasp this sense of love and forgiveness for myself. And I think that's kind of all started to help me move through life a little bit more...
SCHMITZ: It sounds like you've arrived in a good place. I mean, how does that manifest itself on this album?
JAMES: Well, I don't know if you ever arrive. I feel like I've still got a lot of work to do.
SCHMITZ: It's a journey.
JAMES: But I've been doing a lot of work, and it feels good, you know? I definitely feel so grateful. And all of the guys in the band, they've all been doing a lot of work, too. And there's this really beautiful sense of peace in the band right now, and communication. And I feel like we've had this beautiful kind of rebirth or awakening in the last, you know, five years or so where it's not that things don't ever go wrong anymore. It's that we can actually talk about them and kind of move through them. Whereas, before, we wouldn't talk about something, or, you know, there'd brew silent resentment or, you know, these things that are just toxic and deadly to any relationship. And I feel like we've been just so blessed. I mean, I just can't even believe it, you know, that it's like, this version of the band has been the band for over 20 years now. And it just keeps getting better and better because everybody is really trying to get as real as they can.
SCHMITZ: So that brings me to the title of this album, "Is." I'm intrigued by this title. What - how did you come up with that?
JAMES: This record, you know, it - like, it just kept saying to me, it is what it is, you know? And it's like - and I kept realizing the more I could step out of the way of what the universe was trying to say - 'cause at the end of the day, the record always makes itself. Every single record I've ever made, it makes itself. And you can try with your ego to fight it as much as you want and - but it always makes itself.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BEGINNING FROM THE ENDING")
MY MORNING JACKET: (Singing) Beginning from the ending, the world moves on. Beginning from the ending, life goes on. Beginning from the ending, love was all that mattered.
JAMES: I had this realization as we were doing this record. Normally, I obsess over everything. So it's like, I'm obsessing over the microphones and the sound of the mic preamp and the sound of this and this and this and this. And this time, I just, like - just like, OK, I'm singing right now. I'm just going to think about that.
SCHMITZ: You just let it go.
JAMES: OK, I'm playing guitar. I'm just going to think about that.
SCHMITZ: Yeah.
JAMES: Yeah. And I could walk away and kind of have more trust. I don't need to micromanage every second of this thing.
SCHMITZ: Trust and letting go. That is Jim James of My Morning Jacket. Their new album "Is" comes out on March 21. Jim, thanks so much.
JAMES: Thanks so much. Thanks for having me.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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