VH1's downright gorgeous Carrie Keagan keeps throwing to Jim James' newly-released music video/single, "A New Life" during Big Morning Buzz's commercial breaks. It's an oddly endearing acoustic-R&B hybrid jam from his premier My Morning Jacket-less solo album, Regions of Light & Sound of God. Jim James says it's all partially based off a 1929 wood-cut book where a struggling artist sells his soul to The Devil in exchange for a magic paintbrush... "A New Life" [obviously] finds him @ the part where he falls off a cliff/in love with a woman who nurses him back to health. Man, I've gotta admit, Jim James really has that whole crazy/weird Hipster-fied cool vibe down pat these days; We're talkin' about a buffalo-headed girl, sharply-dressed back-up dancers, Jim James and a time-crippled lover, portal-opening doors, and just general desert weirdness.

Regions of Light & Sound of God has been in-the-works since about 2008, essentially made up of demos recorded @ James' home studio, and inspired by vintage Soul and R&B. "A New Life" might not be quite as expansive as some of My Morning Jacket's Southern Rock, Reggae, Folk, and Funk-leaning material. But there ain't a damn thing wrong with a good ol' acoustic guitar-driven Pop nugget! Jim James is supposedly laying down some Bluesy vocal riff on Roots emcee Black Thought's long-awaited and hopefully soon forthcoming record, The Talented Mr. Trotter. It's also rumored to feature Tunde Adebimpe (TV on The Radio) and is tentatively slated for a 2013-14 release through the band's label, Def Jam; while Regions of Light & Sound of God has been out since Feb. 5th, so pick that one up, if you haven't yet.