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Wilco
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August 7, 2009 1:27 PM by Jess
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By Justin Kunesh
Of the Frontpage Milwaukee staff
July 2009
Wilco (The Album)
Wilco
2009
Nonesuch Records
$9.99
Wilco is one of those bands that can sit in the driver seat of stardom and fame, yet never be accused of selling out. It’s probably due in part to the pioneering of new aural titillations and also due to their dismissal from Reprise Records for refusing to alter the album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, and eventually releasing it independently.
It’s been two years since Wilco’s last album, Sky Blue Sky, and apparently the band has been putting in some long hours.
Wilco have spent their 15-year existence cultivating a sound that is truly theirs and it finally shines true in every aspect. Wilco (The Album) takes those years and previous projects and blends them together to create cognitive soundscapes containing lyrical masterpieces about love, life and acceptance.
In the opening number, ironically entitled Wilco, singer/songwriter Jeff Tweedy confronts the anxieties and depressions of humanity and prescribes a little bit of Wilco as a cure. By offering the listener “a sonic shoulder for you to cry on,” Tweedy sells his music as a way to cope with the lemons of life.
But Wilco doesn’t obsess over the bad. They return to the roots of straightforward high-spirited rock and roll from the likes of their 1994 release A.M. The best example comes midway through the album on a track entitled “You Never Know.” Tweedy perceptibly points out, “every generation thinks it’s the worst, thinks it’s the end of the world,” but he counteracts this heavy statement with a vibrant steady beat and a rebellious call to not “care anymore.”
If one thing is certain about Wilco though, it’s that they do care. The band decided to stream the entire album for free on their website for their fans, and this new album speaks directly to them.
Every song on Wilco (The Album) shines with brilliance and integrity as a whole and within each small part. They have mastered the art of texturing music with dashes of mesmerizing repetition and flow.
Glenn Kotche provides subtle variations in his percussive work that spark up a conversation with the eardrum. He reinvents the way in which the drum set is viewed on numbers such as “One Wing.” Every instrument on his kit becomes a useful tool to set down a well thought out and perfectly executed beat.
The highlight of the album comes a bit early, however. “Bull Black Nova” is going to be one of those songs that people either love or hate. There’s no in between for this piece. As the fabric of hypnotic drones is laid down, and compelling guitar tones stereophonically duel for your attention, the budding of a song reveals itself.
“Bull Black Nova” is the complete definition of Wilco in a single song. It starts as a montage of raining instruments culminating in an energy storm of anxiety and nervousness. As bass and drums keep the repetitive beat going, guitars, pianos and electric noise eventually find their foothold.
Wilco (The Album) has taken the band to a new level of maturity and focus. It leaves the listener ready for the 2nd, 3rd and 50th listen. There is always something to explore and gain from each listen, and this becomes apparent throughout the album’s theme: The world and materiality will someday be gone, but emotion and music will live on forever.
Viva Wilco!
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