My Morning Jacket Z

Critic's Take

My Morning Jacket sound rejuvenated on Z, a record that retools their sylvan psychedelia into something more expansive and modern. Paul Mardles savours the big questions - noting how “It Beats For You” tackles purpose and how “Dondante” addresses death - while praising Jim James's astonishing voice on opening “Wordless Chorus”. The reviewer frames the best tracks on Z as those that fuse Seventies riffs with subtlety and rapture, singling out “It Beats For You”, “Wordless Chorus” and “Anytime” as burning highlights. This is music both ambitious and warm, the kind that makes desertion of the band unthinkable.

Key Points

• The best song, notably “It Beats for You”, stands out for its thematic ambition and Jim James's gorgeous delivery.
• The album's core strengths are its fusion of classic Seventies riffs with modern sounds, vocal performance, and expansive ambition.

Themes

Critic's Take

My Morning Jacket find a rare balance on Z, where country-soul collides with shimmering synths and space-rock ambition. The reviewer's voice revels in the sweep of “Wordless Chorus” as an "explosion of hymnal passion," and praises “Gideon” for marrying guitars and haunting synths to near-perfection. He notes the album moves through familiar territory with “What A Wonderful Man” before being blown away by closing epic “Dondante”. In short, the best songs on Z - especially “Wordless Chorus” and “Gideon” - show MMJ stretching their sound into something majestic and new.

Key Points

• The best song, “Wordless Chorus”, is the album's declarative statement, marrying bassy synths with hymnal passion.
• Z's core strength is balancing technological textures with southern-rooted tradition to create expansive, ambitious songs.

Themes

Critic's Take

My Morning Jacket's Z is hailed here as a reverb-soaked masterpiece, and the reviewer singles out “What a Wonderful Man” as the album highlight for its disco lines and honeycomb-sweet vocals. The opener “Wordless Chorus” is likened to Phoenix raised in a dusty midwest bar, establishing the album's new, expansive sound. “Gideon” is also noted for sounding like early U2 drunk on Southern Comfort, all of which supports why listeners searching for the best songs on Z should start with these tracks. The tone stays celebratory throughout, crediting the band's new lineup and Catskills move for crafting a record that floats effortlessly between genres.

Key Points

• The best song is "What a Wonderful Man" because the reviewer calls it the album highlight with disco lines and honeycomb-sweet vocals.
• The album's core strength is its reverb-soaked, genre-blending production that feels majestic, haunting and effortlessly cohesive.

Themes

Critic's Take

My Morning Jacket's Z feels like a record in which Jim James finally refines his reach, and the best tracks on Z - “Wordless Chorus” and “It Beats for You” - show that clarity. Loftus writes in an observant, music-nerd tone that traces influence then lands on specifics, praising the expansive opener “Wordless Chorus” and the tighter, sound-drenched push of “It Beats for You”. He singles out “Lay Low” and “Gideon” for crafted dynamics and climactic payoff, which makes them among the best songs on Z in this review. The voice remains analytical and affectionate, cataloguing influences while celebrating moments where the band distills them into memorable tracks.

Key Points

• The best song is "Wordless Chorus" because it serves as an expansive, refined opener that encapsulates the album's ambitions.
• The album's core strengths are tighter songcraft and an imaginative blend of classic influences with modern, expansive production.

Themes

Critic's Take

My Morning Jacket sound stripped and startling on Z, and the review makes clear the best tracks are kinetic and oddball alike. It also positions “Wordless Chorus” and “Knot Comes Loose” as essential moments - the former for its reckless whoops, the latter for a graceful, whiskey-stained soul that grounds the album.

Key Points

• The best song moments pair kinetic momentum with experimental oddness, as on "What a Wonderful Man."
• Z's core strengths are tightened arrangements, psychedelic textures, and a balance of rawness and grace.

Themes

Critic's Take

My Morning Jacket arrive on Z with a newfound pop sense and studio daring, and the review makes clear the best tracks are athletic and strange in equal measure. The propulsive, Eno-ish shimmer of “Wordless Chorus” and the plunging power chords of “Gideon” are singled out as highlights, and the brief, catchy “What a Wonderful Man” is praised as two-and-a-half minutes of pure invention. Fricke writes with amused admiration, calling the closing “Dondante” a long, riveting psychedelic death scene, which frames the album's reach toward bigger, bolder sounds. These are the best songs on Z because they balance Jim James' keening tenor with buoyant keyboards and a willingness to reshape the band's template.

Key Points

• The best song is the closing "Dondante" because it builds and explodes into a riveting psychedelic finale.

Themes

Critic's Take

My Morning Jacket's Z feels deliberately split between two worlds, and the best tracks - “Wordless Chorus” and “Dondante” - make that contrast thrilling rather than merely stylistic. Stephen M. Deusner luxuriates in the band's willingness to let sound carry meaning, praising the rapturous R&B yowl that closes “Wordless Chorus” and the slow, ecstatic explosion that completes “Dondante”. He also flags “Off the Record” as a single that captures the record's brighter production and reggae-tinged drive, even as Side Two falters in pacing. The result is an album whose best songs underline its spiritual questing and experimental confidence, which is why listeners searching for the best songs on Z will find those moments most revealing.

Key Points

• The best song, "Wordless Chorus", best encapsulates the album's emotional mystery with a rapturous vocal climax.
• The album's core strengths are its two-sided structure, spiritual themes, and adventurous production choices.

Themes

Critic's Take

My Morning Jacket sound more focused on Z than ever, and the best songs here - notably “Wordless Chorus” and “Knot Comes Loose” - show why. The record trades some of the haunted looseness of earlier work for crisp production and vivid arrangements, so the best tracks on Z feel both immediate and emotionally expansive. “Wordless Chorus” rises with multitracked vocals that arouse the spirit, while “Knot Comes Loose” is a gorgeous ballad embroidered in lap-steel and piano. Even when the band overreaches on “Into the Woods” it underlines how far they pushed themselves this time, making these songs the standout moments on the album.

Key Points

• “Knot Comes Loose” is the album’s emotional high point because of its delicate lap-steel, piano and evocative romance.
• Z’s core strength is refined, crisp production that broadens the band’s palette while preserving its identity.

Themes

Critic's Take

My Morning Jacket's Z is a record of contrasts: the best tracks - notably “Wordless Chorus” and “Dondante” - push the band's reverb-drenched Americana into Technicolor, full of wonder and unexpected electronic shimmer. Peschek praises the opening trio as amazing, star-gazing music, and singles out Jim James's intoxicating falsetto on “Dondante” as evidence of what the band can achieve. Yet the reviewer also warns that several songs fall back into conservative, pedestrian heartland rock, making the highs feel that much more striking. The result is an album whose best tracks answer the question of the best songs on Z by showing how far the band can leap when they choose to leap.

Key Points

• The best song, exemplified by “Dondante”, showcases Jim James's intoxicating falsetto and the band's maximal reach.
• The album's core strength is its adventurous opening trio that fuses Americana and electronics into a Technicolor sound.

Themes