My Morning Jacket's Is arrives as a clear-eyed recalibration of the band's strengths, trading marathon psychedelia for tighter craft and renewed melodic focus. Across eight professional reviews the record earned a 72.5/100 consensus score, and critics consistently point to a handful of songs as proof that restraint can still deliver transcendence.
Reviewers agree that the best songs on Is are concentrated, memorable moments: “Time Waited” repeatedly surfaces for its tender lift, while “Out In The Open”, “Everyday Magic” and “Squid Ink” are cited for balancing atmosphere with hooks. Several critics highlight “I Can Hear Your Love” as a standout for its Motown-tinged sway, and quieter pieces like “River Road” earn praise as reflective closers. Across these professional reviews Brendan O'Brien's producer influence is a through-line - some praise the polish that sharpens songwriting, others say it smooths away earlier adventurousness - so the critical consensus frames the album as more streamlined than sprawling.
The collection reads as a reunion of live dynamism and studio craft: critics note renewed vocal energy from Jim James and arrangements that make the band sound both road-ready and radio-friendly. While a few reviews fault the record for choosing polish over risk, most treat Is as a successful revival that emphasizes intimacy, melodic clarity and present-moment lyricism. For readers asking whether Is is worth listening to, the consensus suggests the album rewards repeated plays for its standout tracks and its careful balance of rock dynamism and studio restraint.
Below, the full reviews map where the record's strengths and compromises sit within My Morning Jacket's evolving catalog.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
Out In The Open
6 mentions
"With "Out in the Open", Is begins with a ukelele riff reworked over a steady on-the-beat drum"— PopMatters
Everyday Magic
7 mentions
"Everyday Magic" has a classic rock groove that, with cleaner guitars or different vocals, would go down too easily"— PopMatters
Time Waited
8 mentions
"Time Waited is a glistening gem of a love song, where samples of pedal-steel pioneer Buddy Emmons’ piano buoy up James’ declaration"— Record Collector
Time Waited is a glistening gem of a love song, where samples of pedal-steel pioneer Buddy Emmons’ piano buoy up James’ declaration
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Out In The Open
Half A Lifetime
Everyday Magic
I Can Hear Your Love
Time Waited
Beginning From The Ending
Lemme Know
Squid Ink
Die For It
River Road
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What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 9 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
In a concise, celebratory tone that echoes Mojo’s measured enthusiasm, My Morning Jacket land a rejuvenated set with Is, where the best tracks - notably “Everyday Magic” and “Time Waited” - emerge as radio-friendly gems. The review foregrounds Brendan O’Brien’s outside-producer influence as sharpening melodies and pulling the band’s live heft onto record. It praises “Squid Ink” for its free-styled riffing and holds out “River Road” as a bluesy closer, giving listeners clear answers to queries like best songs on Is and best tracks on Is. Overall the voice is approving, pointing to renewed impetus and successful stylistic bridging as what makes these songs stand out.
Key Points
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The best song(s) like "Everyday Magic" stand out for being radio-friendly and melody-forward under Brendan O’Brien’s guidance.
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The album’s core strengths are renewed impetus, sharper melodies, and bridging the band’s live rock heft with studio clarity.
Themes
Critic's Take
In his warm, idiomatic prose Jeremy Lukens frames My Morning Jacket's Is as a return to buoyant, layered rock where the best songs - notably “Squid Ink” and “Die For It” - deliver the album's most irresistible riffs and hooks. He praises the band’s knack for turning demos into fully realized arrangements, so the best tracks on Is feel both immediate and richly detailed. Lukens names quieter highlights like “I Can Hear Your Love” and “Time Waited” for their retro croon and power-ballad build, arguing the record rewards both live shows and headphone listening.
Key Points
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The best song is "Die For It" because the reviewer calls it "insanely catchy" and the album's standout propulsive banger.
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The album's core strengths are upbeat, layered rock arrangements that reward both live performance and attentive listening.
Themes
Re
Critic's Take
My Morning Jacket's Is finds its best songs in concise, radiant moments where renewal and craft meet — notably “Out In The Open”, “Everyday Magic” and “Time Waited”. The reviewer praises “Out In The Open” for its softly soaring melody and ukulele refrain that teases a blast-off, and highlights “Everyday Magic” and “Time Waited” as gloriously melodic, soulful cuts that crystallise the album's emotional intimacies. Across the record, measured production from Brendan O'Brien and stripped-back home recordings help these tracks stand as the album's brightest and most persuasive moments.
Key Points
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The best song, "Out In The Open", pairs a softly soaring melody with a glinting ukulele refrain to crystallise the album's renewal.
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The album's core strengths are concentrated songwriting, intimate production choices and a balance of transcendental and rock dynamics.
Themes
Critic's Take
In her measured, anecdotal voice Ellen Johnson argues that My Morning Jacket’s Is shines most when it channels the band’s live grandeur, notably on “Out In The Open” and “I Can Hear Your Love”, songs that feel like reminders of why fans call them essential. She writes with the intimate concert-watcher eye that defined the review, pairing vivid Red Rocks imagery with clear-eyed critique - the best tracks capture roomy melodies and sudden full-band explosions that translate from stage to record. Johnson’s praise is tempered but specific: the album’s strongest moments are its open, jammy numbers where lyrical ambition meets uplift.
Key Points
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The best song is a roomy, jammy opener that translates Red Rocks live grandeur to record.
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The album’s core strengths are its live-band energy, expansive jams, and moments of tender introspection.
Themes
Critic's Take
My Morning Jacket make an album about presence with Is, and the best songs - notably “Out In The Open” and “Squid Ink” - show why. The reviewer's eye lingers on how tight structures and focused delivery let the band sound loose and easy, so the best tracks are those that balance atmosphere with discipline. The praise for songs like “Out In The Open” and the texture-shifting “Squid Ink” explains why listeners searching for the best songs on Is will find these cuts most revealing. Overall the record rewards repeated listens, offering accessible hooks without surrendering the band’s reach.
Key Points
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The best song, "Out In The Open", is best for its liminal opening and the way vocals move from timidity to illumination.
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The album’s core strengths are tight songwriting, focused delivery, and balancing atmosphere with accessibility.
Themes
Critic's Take
My Morning Jacket trim their excess and make their case on Is, where tight production and warm songwriting lift standout tracks like “Out In the Open” and “Time Waited”. The record trades marathon jams for compact hooks and studio smarts, which gives songs such as “Everyday Magic” room to gleam without losing the band’s soulful pull. Brendan O’Brien’s touch keeps things polished but not sterile, and that balance makes the best tracks on Is feel both immediate and expandable for the road. Overall, the best songs on Is reward repeated listens with subtle depth beneath their concise surfaces.
Key Points
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The best song, "Out In The Open", pairs vivid imagery and an inviting groove that sets the album’s concise tone.
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The album’s core strength is disciplined, soulful songwriting that channels their jam-band roots into tighter, more immediate studio songs.
Themes
Critic's Take
My Morning Jacket's Is quietly stakes its claim with a few standout tracks rather than a wholesale reinvention. The reviewer's ear latches onto “Time Waited” as quite lovely and names “River Road” a gorgeous, reflective closer, while noting “Everyday Magic” leans into that transcendent pocket too. The tone is charitable - Jim James' vocals feel rejuvenated - but the record overall is described as low-stakes and contented, enjoyable without being essential. This frames the best songs on Is as those moments of genuine lift amid a comfortable, easy-going set.
Key Points
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“Time Waited” is best because it genuinely transcends the album’s comfortable tone and delivers a lovely, affecting moment.
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The album’s core strengths are accessible, immediate pop-rock songwriting and rejuvenated vocals, even if it feels inessential.
Themes
Critic's Take
My Morning Jacket's Is feels like a professional band fine-tuning its stagecraft rather than recapturing old electricity, and the best songs - “I Can Hear Your Love” and “Time Waited” - show that tension plainly. For listeners asking what the best tracks on Is are, those moments of beauty amid overblown production stand out even as the album rarely seeks genuine risk. This is a record that prefers polish to peril, and its highlights are most interesting when they threaten to resist that polish but mostly do not.
Key Points
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The best song moments are those that retain tenderness and unexpected stylistic turns, with “I Can Hear Your Love” and “Time Waited” standing out.
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The album's core strength is polished, high-energy production that showcases the band's classic sound but minimizes adventurousness.