Jim James Of My Morning Jacket

Jim James Of My Morning Jacket 

- Sam D' Arcangelo

“You can talk about it all you want, but what you gonna do? Time’s your oyster, the grave is always getting closer,” sings Jim James on “We Ain’t Getting Any Younger Pt. 2,” one of many calmly distressing tracks from his new solo effort, Eternally Even. Released just four days before this year’s historic election, the album carries itself with a reluctant confidence, like a sage who has always known the impending doom was there the whole time.

In a lot of ways a Jim James solo album is something of an odd product. As frontman and primary songwriter for beloved indie rockers My Morning Jacket, he already has a respectable platform from which to deliver the music that is his message. Yet something about Eternally Even—as well his only other solo release, 2013’s Regions of Light and Sound of God—seems decidedly distinct from his band’s output. The lyrics on the newest record, in particular, feel like they were written with today’s news cycle in mind, even as the music that buoys them digs many decades into the past for inspiration.

Considering the album’s topical nature, the timing of its release appears very deliberate. It also heralds the coming of James’ latest solo tour, which is set to reach New Orleans’ Civic Theatre on Saturday, December 17. I caught up with the enigmatic rock icon less than a week after the release of Eternally Even—and just two days after the fateful 2016 election— to discuss his latest project, working with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and much more.

You just released your second solo album, Eternally Even. The record is a little haunting. There’s a sense of foreboding throughout much of it that, frankly, feels almost prescient considering the events of the past few days. Was that the vibe you were going for?