As lead singer of American psych/folk experimentalists My Morning Jacket, Jim James is used to addressing grand, semi-divine themes. The title of his first solo album, Regions Of Light And Sounds Of God, then, should come as no surprise to MMJ fans and will probably alert them to the fact that its contents are not a radical departure from his day job. But while ROLASOG is not a huge departure in style, it is infused with a clear sense of individuality and quiet contentment that suggests that James is at home in the solo realm.
James plays every instrument on ROLASOG except the strings, and even engineered it himself, allowing him to construct something that is distinctively his own. It sounds like what would happen if Bright Eyes tried to cover Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On. Opener ‘State Of The Art (A.E.I.O.U.)’ is sepulchral and bare, building up gradually like much of the material on MMJ’s last album Circuital, but frustratingly stops dead where it should peak. ‘A New Life’ is a slice of jaunty cosmic folk that, and the back-to-back pieces ‘I Didn’t Know ‘Til Now’ and ‘Dear One’ both feature unconventional rhythms and instrumentation and do a great deal to set ROLASOG apart. James’ distinctive voice glides across the mix to hold them together. Instrumental track ‘Exploding’ is beautifully delicate, its gentle picked acoustic guitar sounding familiar yet alien at the same time. This is James’ talent – taking a passage of music you think you’ve heard before somewhere and elongating and manipulating it into something utterly different.

ROLASOG is an interesting and enjoyable album, sounding like very little else out there at the moment. Its commercial potential may be limited to existing MMJ fans on this basis, but that’s really not the point. James has made something unique, and that is more than enough.

8/10

words: Ed Biggs