My Morning Jacket's overblown 2008 album Evil Urges wasn't remotely selective about its experimentation—Jim James and company just put a whole bunch of plastic products in the microwave and trusted the listener to enjoy whatever odd smells, shapes and colors they produced. Thankfully, the band's new Circuital is much more disciplined. There's still a wealth of interesting ideas and trippy curveballs here, but they're tightly packed into 10 tracks and 45 minutes, making this an overdue sequel to the band's 2005 milestone Z.
There's a sameness at the core of Death Cab for Cutie's albums that makes it easy to overlook how much the band is constantly evolving. The band's new Codes and Keys is in some respects the greatest departure yet from the band, marking a shift from guitars toward keyboards and electronic textures, some of which Ben Gibbard hasn't touched on since his lone album with the Postal Service. But these new tricks are so subtly incorporated that they're barely perceptible, and Gibbard's songwriting is so familiar at this point that even with the occasional, gentle drum 'n' bass accent, Codes still feels like just another Death Cab for Cutie album.
Also out this week:
* Eddie Vedder - Ukelele Songs
* Flogging Molly - Speed of Darkness
* Kate Bush - Director's Cut
* The Melvins - Sugar Daddy Live
* The Vaccines - What Did You Expect From the Vaccines?
