My Morning Jacket

My Morning Jacket’s lead singer Jim James howls like a dog at the moon. His rich, reverb-heavy voice combined with the band’s Southern rock-infused instrumentation forms songs so seemingly organic, it’s hard to tell where the songs begin and end. For Okonokos, the group’s latest release, My Morning Jacket recorded live at San Francisco’s Fillmore over two days in November 2005 and the band’s energy translates spectacularly. At the time, MMJ was supporting its second major-label album, Z, which offered more experimentation. My Morning Jacket modernizes classic rock’s all-too-familiar guitar-heavy trademarks with a foray into an electronic, and sometimes ambient, realm (“Wordless Chorus,” “Donate”). It’s an invigorating fusion of Skynyrd and Radiohead resulting in unpredictable, dance-friendly jams such as “Off the Record” and “Run Thru.” MMJ has expanded its territory from Kentucky into outer space with the kind of rock ‘n’ roll that an astronaut could bounce around to in zero gravity. 3 stars

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My Morning Jacket plays the Tabernacle Sun., Nov. 12.