Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	78/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
American Songwriter
The A.V. Club	B
Consequence of Sound	B
The Guardian
The Independent
The New York Times	(Favourable)
Pitchfork	7.9/10
Rolling Stone

The Waterfall is the seventh studio album by American rock band My Morning Jacket. Produced by Tucker Martine and group frontman Jim James, the album was released on May 4, 2015 by ATO Records and Capitol Records. My Morning Jacket rose to prominence in the 2000s with a string of acclaimed albums and praised live performances. Its sixth album, Circuital (2011), was equally well received. The band toured in support of it for two years before taking a break. They regrouped in late 2013 to begin work on The Waterfall, a process which took eighteen months.

Much of The Waterfall was recorded at a hilltop studio located Stinson Beach, California, where the band rented seaside homes while recording. A deal of the album—from its tone to its album art—is heavily indebted to the area and its nature. James mostly brought unfinished lyrics to the group to create a spontaneous development process. In addition, he suffered a back injury during the sessions that hindered its production. His lyrics, likewise, document injury, romance and heartbreak, and spirituality, but center most on renewal. The album's music encompasses several genres, including folk, R&B, and psychedelia.

The album received favorable reviews from music critics, who considered it an improvement on their previous two albums. It debuted at number 11 on the Billboard 200 in the U.S., and represented career bests in several countries' national album charts. To promote the record, murals of a waterfall were painted on buildings in several U.S. cities, including Los Angeles and Chicago. The group founded an philanthropic organization named after the album to support environmental causes. My Morning Jacket supported the record with a large summer tour, spanning five months and featuring appearances at theaters and festivals.

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Wikipedia