Jim James: Uniform Clarity

In some respects, the fact that Jim James followed his solo album Uniform Distortion with Uniform Clarity, a collection of stripped-down takes on the material from that previous full-length seems backwards. While those who were dumbstruck by the atmospheric clutter of that initial effort might find some respite in the acoustic framework of its successor, there’s also a chance that they would have preferred to hear the skeletal set-up first. After the discordant tones offered by Distortion would those who were overwhelmed want to gamble on a follow-up, whatever its promise? Maybe not. Once someone is smacked in the face, it’s unlikely they’d want to face that possibility again.
Of course, James has never been one to follow a formula, be it with his day job at the helm of My Morning Jacket or with his outside offerings. His tribute to George Harrison released under the aegis of an alter ego Yim Yames and the various bows to Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan and the Band offered little initial insight into his aims or intents. Now four solo albums on, his direction is no more clear. Given that these two consecutive efforts feature the same songs with vastly different executions, matter are likely to be muddled even more.
“I’m either behind the times or ahead of the times,” James sings on the aptly titled “Out of Time,” an acknowledgment perhaps that his logic is in reverse.