Travistan and the Dismemberment Plan. There. I wanted to just throw those out there right at the start and get them out of the way, as they’re the two points of reference reviews are inevitably going to go to time and time again for Morrison’s new record. They’re also two things to which Morrison may already tire of comparisons. And, of course, they’re the essential pieces of the questions on many a hopeful fan’s lips in advance of All Y’All: is it better than the former, and could it ever be as good as the latter? The short answers? Yes, and no.

Cynics might say that besting Travistan isn’t exactly saying much. But Morrison’s first solo outing isn’t the unholy train wreck some make it out to be. It’s just that the person perhaps most disappointed with the record also happened to write the most talked about review of it. It’s a little disheartening that a review can become perhaps the most talked about piece of music criticism of a decade based solely on two little numbers at the top. Still, whatever your feelings about Travistan, it’s hard not to admit that it sounded like a record by an artist searching for something. And sometimes having trouble finding it. The good news about All Y’All is that Morrison no longer sounds like he’s reaching. It’s a much more cohesive record, and is free of the sense of flailing about that sometimes marred his debut. Whether that’s simply a function of time, or of the increased collaboration evident with his new band the Hellfighters, it’s a welcome development.

As for the second part of that question, it’s kind of irrelevant. When your former group has reached a kind of iconic status, comparative quality is judged far more on reputation than anything else. Even if All Y’All was better than anything the Plan had ever recorded, no one would ever say so. So better just to attempt to judge it on its own merits.