While the album title may be decidedly tongue-in-cheek, Wilco’s latest release establishes the identity of the band post-Yankee Hotel Foxtrot/A Ghost is Born.
Release Date: June 30, 2009
Record Label: Nonesuch
Rating: 85
Did the admittedly straightforward Sky Blue Sky strike you as a little too dull? Were you one of the many who coined the album as being nothing more than “dad rock”? Well, Chicago’s finest rock band presents you with an album that may not make you forget Yankee Hotel Foxtrot or even A Ghost is Born, but it’ll take you back to the Summerteeth days, and that’s not too shabby at all.
The opening eponymous song is something like a mint, resetting the senses and erasing any possible comparison between this album and the last. It’s quirky, fun and despite its relative brevity contains enough musical nuances to be more than just a radio-friendly song. Enter “Deeper Down,” which initially feels familiar until the first pause in what is a purposely fragmented song, the first of many interesting touches as both “One Wing” and “Bull Black Nova” are two of the most dynamic songs that Wilco has released in a long, long time.
The former features some beautiful guitar work by Nels Cline and equally poignant lyrics from Jeff Tweedy– who is incredibly strong across the board on this album. The chugging “Bull Black Nova” almost comes off like a long-winded jam that Spoon would have performed, with its emphasis on percussion to dictate the other instruments as it swells into a superbly hypnotic piece.
Perhaps one of the more anticipated tracks from the album is the duet between Tweedy and Leslie Feist on “You and I.” It’s a nice enough song to be sure, but sandwiched between “Bull Black Nova” and lead single “You Never Know,” it feels a little tame.
What prevents Wilco (The Album) from being something truly great is that it is, for the most part, a top-heavy album. With the lone exception of “Everlasting Everything,” much of the latter part of the album is simply good– never quite exceeding expectations or providing any surprises, something that used to be practically unheard of from a Wilco album.
Even so, it’s obvious that Wilco (The Album) is the band’s attempt to perhaps more solidly announce the arrival of a different Wilco. These aren’t the guys that made Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, or even A Ghost is Born. Whether you like it or not, that band is dead, and what’s here now is a more mature, even-keeled band. What hasn’t changed is that Tweedy can still write a tune, and his bandmates still play the hell out of their respective instruments.
Wilco - “Wilco (The Song)”
