My Morning Jacket have come a long way from being that Roots-Rock band that we're easy to compare to Neil Young & Crazy Horse early on in their career. Their last album, Z, broke so many creative barriers that it lead many a critic and fan to deem them the American answer to Radiohead (which is a comparison I still find ridiculous, but whatever). Needless to say their highly anticipated follow-up, Evil Urges has a lot to live up to and more than a few might even have it down as the most anticipated album of the summer.

If you're the kind of person who's looking for Z part 2, forget it because this ain't it. What Evil Urges is, however, is a sometimes brilliant, sometimes wildly uneven and frustrating record that will have many scratching their heads for months to come. Some songs like the opening self-titled track find lead man Jim James singing in a piercing falsetto that certainly feels indebted to Prince. Add that falsetto to something that sounds like Industrial pioneers KMFDM (God I wish I was joking) and you have "Highly Suspicious," probably the most bizarre My Morning Jacket song I've heard to this day and frankly still don't get. And then there's the 70's AM feel to "Sec Walkin" that sounds so much like James Taylor you'll swear there's a verse of "Fire and Rain" coming up in there somewhere.

Still for every song here that feels like a giant misstep, there's one that feels like a thorough triumph. "I'm Amazed" (which blew me away when they debuted it weeks ago on Saturday Night Live) is as equally great here on the album and "Librarian" with its haunting acoustics and understated string work is stunning as well. The last quarter of Evil Urges is really where this album takes off in a big way. "Aluminum Park" and especially "Remnants" are the great blistering Rock tunes that make this band so special and the album closer "Touch Me I'm Going to Scream Pt.2" is a moody, atmospheric piece that stays with you long after the album comes to a close. Due to all the inconsistencies Evil Urges is My Morning Jacket's weakest album yet, but the parts that are great are so great that it's still worth picking up notwithstanding, nevertheless - whatever.