My Morning Jacket - is : a new album after three years

 As any chef knows. simple ingredients that are well-combined make the best meals. A similar law exists in music as shown on 'Out In The Open', the opening track of My Morning Jacket's first album in three years. A simple country music melody sits atop minimal electronic backing to create a euphoric stadium anthem. 

It's a technique alluded to in the lyrics of following song 'Half A Lifetime'- "Please take a message and put it to a beat, try to crossover from the country to the street," sings Jim James as if letting us in on a trade secret. 

Such alchemy permeates the album which draws from roots, rock and pop in equal measure. Producer Brendan O'Brien (Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen) helps give a state-of-the-art 21st century sheen, be it on the fun pentatonic riffage of 'Squid Ink' or the piano-led balladry of 'Time Wasted', which stands out as the album's emotional centrepiece.