Wilco revisits the unpredictable leanings of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost Is Born on its latest project, Wilco (The Album), due June 30 from Nonesuch. The 11-track set was produced by the band with Jim Scott, who mixed 2007's Sky Blue Sky.
Whereas that album reveled in a cohesive, laidback vibe and toned down the experimentation of its two predecessors, musically, Wilco (The Album) offers a little bit of everything while making good on frontman Jeff Tweedy's stated goal to use “the studio as another instrument."
That approach is best heard on the nearly six-minute “Bull Black Nova," which is built on a pulsating rhythm akin to “Spiders (Kidsmoke)" from “A Ghost Is Born" and is layered with clattering piano and unhinged, interlocking guitar workouts.
Elsewhere, Wilco offers up unusual song structures on the gauzy “Deeper Down," which has short verses that come to a full stop and a wealth of sonic details in its nooks and crannies.
The gripping “One Wing" builds from a quiet introductory section to a strident, arena-worthy stomper, while strings and horns color the majestic final portion of album closer “Everlasting." Premiered last year on “The Colbert Report," opener “Wilco the Song" is a humorous, self-referential rocker with the reminder that even when life gets you down, “Wilco will love you, baby."
Whereas that album reveled in a cohesive, laidback vibe and toned down the experimentation of its two predecessors, musically, Wilco (The Album) offers a little bit of everything while making good on frontman Jeff Tweedy's stated goal to use “the studio as another instrument."
That approach is best heard on the nearly six-minute “Bull Black Nova," which is built on a pulsating rhythm akin to “Spiders (Kidsmoke)" from “A Ghost Is Born" and is layered with clattering piano and unhinged, interlocking guitar workouts.
Elsewhere, Wilco offers up unusual song structures on the gauzy “Deeper Down," which has short verses that come to a full stop and a wealth of sonic details in its nooks and crannies.
The gripping “One Wing" builds from a quiet introductory section to a strident, arena-worthy stomper, while strings and horns color the majestic final portion of album closer “Everlasting." Premiered last year on “The Colbert Report," opener “Wilco the Song" is a humorous, self-referential rocker with the reminder that even when life gets you down, “Wilco will love you, baby."
