Jeff Tweedy has finally assembled the perfect cast of aural terrorists, coming out of the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot/Ghost is Born years having lost all but one of Wilco's founding member but emerging a stronger and more fearless band. Kicking Television, Wilco's live offering showed a wealth of possible futures as the singer/songwriter settled in with the Nels Cline/Glenn Kotche lineup.
I'll admit, I did not see a bare-bones return to Wilco's folk roots as one of those futures. Every single album since their 1995 debut had been a stylistic left turn, but after a live album of ferocious readings of their most experimental work, it was time for Tweedy to clear the decks.
The album begins with a gorgeously low key and ambivilent ballad "Either Way." Not since Nick Drake's "Fly" and Nico's version of "These Days" has there been a song this achingly beautiful. The rest of the album follows suit in which it is the songs, not the sonics, that impress. Tweedy turns out his best batch of compositions since the late 90's and the band tries as hard as possible to be inconspicuous, with sharp timekeeping favored over tribal beating and precise chord changes over feedback. This is no return to their No Depression days, however. A more accurate comparison would be the smooth textures of British folk and the plainspoken maturity of the best of the Beatles' late work. "Hate it Here" has shades of "Get Back"/"Don't Let Me Down" with its electric piano inflected guitar pop for grown ups.
The album is melodic, direct, and emotionally naked. Some might miss the impressionist lyrics of "She's a Jar" or "Ashes of American Flags," but the lyrics have found the same graceful simplicity as the songs. As Tweedy sings on "What Light," "if you feel like singing a song/and you want other people to sing along/just sing what you feel/don't let anyone say that you're wrong." I'm already excited to see what Wilco does next.
9/10
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