Jim James "Regions of Light and Sound of God" (8 out of 10 stars)

I'm really shocked that I love this album so much simply because it's not immediately accessible, and the older I get the less patience I have for nuance and subtlety.  And there's a fine line between creativity and creative indulgence that's just noodling and posturing (see Yorke, Thom).  This comes across as a true labor of love from the My Morning Jacket frontman and it grows with each listen.  Lennon-esque at times with a dash of the best of Badly Drawn Boy (where has HE been?), his spiritual longings rarely come across as less than sincere and quite humble and there's enough melody sprinkled around to hold interest.  In fact, this album gets much better with each listen.  Great production too.