Chocolate and Ice [CD]

My Morning Jacket, the Louisville, KY outfit that continue to defy categorization, return with a new E.P. entitled 'Chocolate and Ice.' Equal parts Southern Blues, Americana and dreamy psychaedelica, My Morning Jacket's appeal stems from, among other things, the hauntingly raw vocals of lead singer and guitarist, Jim James. While seeming to simultaneously channel the spirits of both Neil Young and Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne, Jim James leads his musical cohorts along a journey of reverb-drenched melodies, velvet melancholy lyrics, and instrumentation that combines old country swagger with classic pop sentimentality. Live, My Morning Jacket turn the proverbial amp up to 11 and rock so hard that 'shards of glass from broken beer bottles thrown against the chickenwire amidst a bar-room brawl only add to the rhythmic mayhem (from a fan website).' Clocking in at over 40 minutes, the new E.P. is still longer than the green Weezer album. B+ - Entertainment Weekly.