Over the course of about a decade, My Morning Jacket [ tickets ] blossomed from an inconsistent but intriguing indie band into one of the last great hopes of the major labels. The arrival of "Z" in 2005 was a watershed moment for the group, lifting it to the status of an arena and festival headliner--and one that felt like it would have staying power.

It's no surprise, then, that there are some big expectations for "Evil Urges," the band's upcoming follow-up to "Z," due in June. To that end, My Morning Jacket primed the ears of fans for the new material with a nearly two-hour set that included several new songs.

Things unfortunately got off to a rough start Thursday night (3/13) with the new album's title track, during which shaggy-bearded frontman/guitarist Jim James and the rest of the quartet struggled mightily to find a funky groove, but never quite settled in. Even the falsetto that James sometimes uses to good effect felt soulless.

Whatever was amiss at first was quickly remedied by the time the band wrapped up its second song, the "Z" standout track "Off the Record," which found the stocky James joyfully bounding about the stage like a frumpy, guitar-toting Mick Jagger. From the opening windup of "Gideon," the band was completely in sync, and would remain there for the rest of the night.

Judging from the new songs performed on this night, "Evil Urges" takes a lot of its cues from the old-school soul music of the early '70s. It is, of course, My Morning Jacket [ tickets ]'s twisted take on that music, in the same way the band twisted traditional Southern rock in weird directions early in its career.

James and his band aren't afraid to rock without irony or pretension. The dueling guitar solos of James and guitarist Carl Broemel are big, broad and full of ideas that are followed through upon until they're fully exhausted. At its best, the extended jams build in waves before crashing in on themselves--as if there's nothing left to say. The band isn't above rock theatrics, either--even the strobe lights often employed during jam breakdowns don't feel the least bit over the top.

It remains to be seen if "Evil Urges" can live up to or improve upon "Z"; the clear standout songs on this night turned out to be the familiar material from "Z" and its predecessor, 2003's "It Still Moves." But, even if the new album doesn't prove to be a step forward, My Morning Jacket ought to continue to be a can't-miss live act for the foreseeable future.