It probably shouldn’t be any surprise that My Morning Jacket’s latest album, Circuital, plays things safer than Evil Urges, but I’m surprised by how safe they play it. With its forays into R&B and yacht rock, Evil Urges managed to both confuse and alienate fans of the group even though many of the album’s songs were actually quite strong. But My Morning Jacket fans were justifiably bewildered and alienated by songs like “Thank You Too!” and “Highly Suspicious” that sounded like deliberate efforts to avoid capitalizing on the band’s strengths. In the end, Evil Urges didn’t do much to undermine the band’s reputation. They still sell out concerts and earn rave reviews. So what explains this album? Circuital doesn’t just abandon the stylistic experiments of Evil Urges; it almost gives up everything that makes My Morning Jacket interesting.

That being said, when the album opens with “Victory Dance”, there’s reason to be optimistic. It’s a moody song that keeps things simple until the brief climax. Its sound is about as electronic as anything My Morning Jacket has done. It’s also as melodically powerful as any of their best work. Followed by spare guitars and a steady beat backing up Jim James’ vocals at the beginning of “Circuital”, the album seems to be headed more towards Z territory. But when the acoustic guitar comes in, the song takes an abrupt turn, finding a powerful melody that’s among their most immediately catchy tunes.

“Circuital” is seven minutes long, too long to be a real pop song, but from here on out, Circuital is a pop album. With its sunny keyboards, backing vocals and lighthearted melody, “The Day Is Coming” is undeniably pop. It has more life than “Thank You Too!” (I consider this song the nadir of Evil Urges), but it’s just as devoid of purpose, maybe even more so. “Wonderful”, the quiet acoustic song that follows, is even more forgettable.

Thankfully, just as the album is beginning to lose my attention and interest, these two clunkers are followed by “Outta My System”, a song that gives pop a good name. The whole band comes back to live on this song, but it’s James’ vocals that drive the melody and take the song over the edge. It’s probably the tightest melody James has ever come up with, and it’s easily my favorite track on here, but I could understand how “Holding On To Black Metal” might be someone else’s. James sings mostly in falsetto, and he’s backed by a children’s choir, and the band is in full rock mode. It all combines for a glorious four-minute mess.

The next two songs, “First Light” and “You Wanna Freak Out”, feature a much more straight forward rock sound that does the band no favors. I would never say that either song is bad, though I would gladly trade these songs for even the most frustrating moments of Evil Urges. I suppose if I listened to My Morning Jacket just to hear radio-friendly rock and roll, I’d be happy. Though anyone who’s been following this group expects more, and I think rightfully so. Penultimate track, “Slow Slow Tune”, is much quieter and more relaxed, while still sounding livelier than the two preceding songs.

Nothing on Circuital makes me cringe, but when I listen to the band close out the album with the quiet, “Movin’ Away”, I’m left underwhelmed and disappointed. I’m not just disappointed that the album lacks any searing guitar workouts like “Run Thru” or “One Big Holiday”, those were just as absent from Evil Urges. And I think I would be fine with My Morning Jacket playing things straight if they delivered stronger songs. But for the most of the album, My Morning Jacket don’t give any reason to deserve my attention over any other generic rock band. I know a lot of people were bewildered by Evil Urges, but for me, this is the stranger album. Why would such a successful, adventurous, accomplished group just give up like this? With every album, My Morning Jacket has shown a refusal to repeat themselves. But on Circuital, the only thing that distinguishes the music from their previous work is how unremarkable it is.

Track List:

1. Victory Dance
2. Circuital
3. The Day Is Coming
4. Wonderful (The Way I Feel)
5. Outta My System
6. Holdin' On to Black Metal
7. First Light
8. You Wanna Freak Out
9. Slow Slow Tune
10. Movin' Away