“is” by My Morning Jacket – my first favorite rock album of 2025 (so far).

After over two decades of being one of America’s most adventurous and enduring, fun alt-rock bands, My Morning Jacket returns with “is” —a luminous, finely crafted album that balances introspection and groove, restraint and release. Released on March 21, 2025, “is” marks the Louisville-based band’s tenth studio effort and their first produced by an outsider: Brendan O’Brien, famed for his work primarily with Pearl Jam and Bruce Springsteen (and AC/DC!). As a long-term MMJ fan, his presence on the record feels both invisible and essential, giving the band’s sound clarity and cohesion without sacrificing its spirit of exploration.

The result is an album that feels really human — at once grounded and wide-eyed, somewhat psychedelic but emotionally present. “is” doesn’t roar out of the gate or announce any radical reinvention. 

Instead, it glides into view with grace and warmth, inviting you to lean in and listen closely.

“is” begins with Out in the Open, a tight, infectious track built around a skipping beat and buoyant guitar lines. There’s a lovely lightness to it, a feeling of movement and freedom. Lead singer Jim James sings with quiet confidence, sounding entirely at ease. 

It’s the sound of a band not trying to prove anything — they are doing what they do best, precisely and purposefully. As an opener, it’s among the album’s standout tracks: warm, welcoming, and effortlessly memorable.

Next comes Half a Lifetime, a ballad apparently written over 20 years ago but now finally finding its place in the present. The track is sparse and vulnerable, built on delicate guitar and James’ restrained, affecting vocals. There’s something timeless about it — perhaps because it has lived a long life in the background. Its themes of love, loss, and endurance resonate even more today, delivered with the emotional depth of an artist who’s had time to let the words mature. James reflects on the passage of time and lingering discontent, singing:

“If you’re making easy money and you’ve got some time to kill. Go get stark naked, honey, and drop those dollar bills. Go drink in every barroom, go sleeping by the lake. Go by and by and love the way you get every chance you take.“

It’s one of the album’s most emotionally resonant moments.

One of the clear highlights is Time Waited, which centers around a haunting piano loop. James’ lyrics—originally conceived in a dream—grapple with the paradox of time and love. He sings:

“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.”

This poignant reversal becomes the heart of the song—a quiet revelation about how love, at its most powerful, seems to suspend the world’s forward motion. It’s a gorgeous, understated piece that expands with each listen and cements its place as a central moment on the album.

Further in, the album takes an introspective turn with Beginning From the Ending, a slow-burning, emotionally rich meditation on cycles, renewal, and the beauty of impermanence. The arrangement is layered and restrained, building gradually toward a luminous swell. James sings with soulful gravity, embracing the contradiction at the heart of the title—that every ending contains the seed of something new. He muses:

“Beginning from the ending, the world moves on. Beginning from the ending, life goes on. Beginning from the ending, love was all that mattered.“

The song feels like the album’s philosophical core: spacious, searching, and beautifully unresolved.

That introspective depth is quickly followed by a sharp left turn with Squid Ink, one of the album’s most playful and chaotic songs. Packed with funky guitar riffs and an elastic rhythm section, the track charges forward with wild energy. It’s unpredictable and kinetic, a jolt of psychedelic swagger that shakes the listener out of their reverie. James delivers one of the album’s most mischievous lines:

“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!”

Squid Ink – I think – will become a fan favorite in live settings (and God, they are great live) – raw, loose, and full of groove-heavy weirdness. I absolutely love it.

Closing out the album is River Road, a brooding, bluesy final chapter that lingers in the mind long after it ends. With its slow pace and mournful tone, it feels like the sun setting on a long, winding journey. James sounds raw here, his lovely voice tinged with melancholy as he delivers one final meditation on transience and place:

“Down on River Road, I roll for a while. To clear my mind.”

The arrangement is stripped-down but immersive, and it fades out like a memory — gentle, unresolved, and quietly haunting.

Throughout this, the band sounds tight, inspired, and locked in. Carl Broemel’s guitar work is expressive but never showy, coloring the edges with tasteful flourishes. Bo Koster’s keyboard textures shimmer and swell with cinematic grace. Patrick Hallahan (drums) and Tom Blankenship (bass) hold everything together with a groove and subtle force. 

These five musicians have been playing together long enough to anticipate each other’s moves, resulting in a spontaneous and really, beautiful, composed sound.

Lyrically, Jim James trades grand proclamations for gentle truths. He sings of time, transformation, waiting, and wonder. There are no slogans here — just observations delivered with humility and heart. His voice, still one of the most recognizable in modern rock, feels less like it’s reaching for the heavens and more like it’s speaking directly to the listener, eye to eye.

“is” may not be the flashiest record in My Morning Jacket’s catalog, but it might be one of their most rewarding. I think it’s their best since 2005’s Z. It’s cohesive, emotionally generous, and confident in its quietness. It doesn’t scream for attention—it invites you in, slowly builds trust, and then, almost imperceptibly, lifts you up.

For longtime fans, “is” feels like a continuation and a soft reset—less about reinvention and more about refinement. For newcomers, it’s a great and gorgeous entry point into a band that has always defied easy categorization. “is” finds My Morning Jacket doing what they do best: blending styles, channeling emotion, and searching for something just out of reach.

In the end, “is“ doesn’t give us all the answers. But it asks the right questions — and sometimes, that’s exactly what and all we need.

Chris Garrod, March 24, 2025

8.75/10