Wilco (The Album)

Released: June 30th 2009

Wilco’s seventh studio album has sparked much discussion amongst critics, some good, some bad, yet it is clear that Tweedy and company have no intentions of being influenced by the seemingly forever discontented media. The album has a bit of everything from the Wilco pantheon in terms of style, essentially the album feels like a sequel to Sky Blue Sky only simpler and more back to their musical roots. Wilco (The Album) was always going to be scrutinized whatever its musical outcome, and Tweedy’s lyrics evoke this somewhat ironically ‘Is someone twisting a knife in your back? /Are you being attacked? / Oh, this is a fact / That you need to know’.

Why are Wilco subject to so much negative criticism recently? It seems there is always going to be comparisons drawn with Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and Summerteeth whenever they release new material, and for this reason it appears like they are being written off before the music has even been given a chance. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is arguably one of the most innovative albums ever made, for fans to expect something as good or revolutionarily ground-breaking as this every time they release an LP is ridiculous. The album was an anomaly in the band’s repertoire. What they should do is accept that Wilco (The Album) stands up as a chapter in the Wilco discography, which although might not be their best, still holds some stunning tracks and highlights a consistency in song writing that is almost obsolete in the modern music industry.

It is undisputable that Wilco are comprised of a group of individual musical talents, and Kotche and Cline shine on this album in much the same way they did on Sky Blue Sky. ‘One Wing’ is right up there with the very best Wilco songs, with its lovely harmonies, emotive vocals and pulsating drumming. Kotche’s versatility became extremely evident to me when I saw Wilco live on their Sky Blue Sky tour, his drumming is truly unique and compliments the melodies in Wilco’s songs wonderfully. Very rarely does he revert to standard clichéd beats, instead creating innovative drum patters which are a strong characteristic of Wilco’s diverse sound.

As for Cline, he continues where he left off from the last album with his dissonant virtuoso soloing, giving Wilco a new dimension; a raw, hard-edged sound that was missing from their early work on albums like A.M. and Being There. Tweedy is on form as always and tracks like ‘You and I’ and ‘Solitaire’ highlight his effortless song writing ability. ‘You and I’ is the first ever duet on a Wilco record, with the folk singer Feist adding a feminine eloquence never heard on a Wilco track before. The title track is a catchy, fun rock song as is ‘I’ll Fight’, which through its repetitiveness becomes highly addictive after a few listens. Wilco (The Album) is, despite its much maligned scope, a great and enjoyable listen. ***