Prior to the recording of Holdin’ On To Black Metal – the sixth track on Circuital – frontman Jim James informed his bandmates that he wanted them to sound like beret-wearing child soldiers walking through an alleyway before bursting into a crazy sing-along. These abstract examples aren’t exactly new for the Louisville quintet. “There are a lot of times where Jim will kind of set the stage for a song by putting an image in your head,” laughs bassist Tom ‘Two-Tone Tommy’ Blankenship, “and he’ll say ‘just imagine yourself as…’.
“A lot of times, it’s what he wants to feel rhythmically or a certain tone that he wants to hear from the guitar. And you can hear it a lot in his voice, too – personally, I do, and I heard it a lot on the last record. I think this record is a continuation of that, where his vocals – from song to song – sound like a different character or persona.”
While the converted studio had its limitations, MMJ were drawn to the limitations as a way of focusing more on communication and interaction rather than technology. “I think that made it more of an adventure and it was just exciting to have a challenge like that,” Blankenship affirms. “Also, it just felt like such a welcoming room and it felt like it had good spirit to it. It was incredibly special because we had done these five shows in New York just weeks before that, where we had played pretty much our entire catalogue and all these covers that we had done over the years. It was 99 songs that we had to learn for these five days, and we didn’t redo one song over those five days,” he nods.
“So part of the process was going through that and part of it was, in a way, reliving the past to a certain extent, and especially since Jim and I had been there from the beginning, playing these songs that we had either never played live before or hadn’t revisited in years.
“Part of it was kinda taking this journey through the years together as the band that we are now, and just a great reminder of how strong we are now and how far we’ve come to become the band that it is now. And it’s crazy finding out that after everything we’ve been through, we’re spending more time together now than we ever have. I think part of making the record was this unspoken celebration of the friendship between the five of us as well as just how well we work together musically.”
James has stated that Circuital finds an understanding between the creative impulses of Evil Urges and My Morning Jacket’s earlier work – evidently, Circuital is a distinctive album in the band’s catalogue. “Yeah, yeah – I think it fulfils a goal that we had partially met but one that we’ve always had – it’s always been our goal to make this record like a lot of those albums were done in the ’40s, ’50s, ’60s … most of the albums were done live, especially for the vocals,” says Blankenship.
“This is the first time that from start to finish, the main vocal that you’re hearing on every song was done either in the same room as the band or done live, where maybe Jim had to be isolated because the guitars were too loud. Almost everything is live and a natural performance. I love that the sound of the production is so different to the other albums.”
The fresh recording process proffered many memorable experiences. “Circuital (the title track) really stood out for me: we were all there in the same room; it was night time, and it was hot – it was literally in the 90s (degrees farenheit) there in the room… we would turn the fans off to do the take and I think that song and the particular take and the performance on the record kind of sums up what making that album was all about, and it think it sums up the whole feel of the record.
“But also Movin’ Away – I mean, you can hear the rain outside and cars driving through the wet street; it was one of my favourite performances that we’ve ever captured. And I think there are hardly any overdubs on that, so really what you’re hearing is what we were playing that day. It was just something that was so sad and beautiful at the same time, that whole day and that particular performance.”
Of the current My Morning Jacket line-up, Blankenship and James are the sole original members; hence, it’s fostered an incredible personal and musical bond. “It’s wild – I think I wasn’t even 21 when I joined the band – it was a couple of weeks before that, so most of my adult life I’ve spent in this working relationship with Jim,” Blankenship reflects.
“It’s a unique relationship and friendship to what I have with anyone else. There’s a certain love and understanding that’s there because there are very few people that I spend that much time with in my life. Even if we weren’t necessarily talking, everyday it feels like you’re sharing so much of your life.”
My Morning Jacket are regarded by many as one of the most creative and thrilling bands of the past decade; similarly, it’s bands that have never compromised and ruthlessly pursue their own vision that inspire them: “Artists like Radiohead, Wilco, Björk and Dr. Dog seem to be creating these musical worlds for themselves and it just seems completely new and fresh every time.”
In early 2009, the quintet thrilled Australian fans at the Big Day Out as well as their marathon sideshows; they hope to return to our shores either late this year or early 2012. “Those shows were amazing,” Blankenship recalls. “The festival was extremely well-organised and just such a beautiful location. And it was actually a few months before Carl’s baby was born – the first child for the band – so we were really trying to take advantage of every moment, you know. It was like special boy time just going to the beach and going to museums. It was a lot of fun and it was only two weeks!”
