For the sorry souls who haven’t been following the play-by-play on Wilco, here’s an update: the Chicago group is releasing a new album on June 30 called “Wilco: The Album,” featuring lead single “Wilco: The Song.”
The group tossed the album up on their Web page for fans on Wednesday, a day after it leaked. And you know what? It’s really, really good, a welcome return to form for a group that seemed to be veering off course.
The group’s last album, “Sky Blue Sky,” featured a tinkered-with lineup backing frontman Jeff Tweedy. It seemed like a change for the worse. The album was a misfire, a jam session gone awry. It had its moments, sure, but it felt tepid compared to the group’s experimental turns and wasn’t as tuneful as past alt-country outings.
“Wilco: The Album,” though, finds a happy medium between the group’s most distinct albums, the alt-country epic “Being There,” the pop experimentalism of “Summerteeth” and the Radiohead-via-Americana outing “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.”
There are catchy songs with Brian Wilson-styled production flourishes, like “Depper Down.” There are moments when Tweedy goes literal without becoming sappy, such as “I’ll Fight.” And there are guitar freakouts that complement the singer’s more vague lyrics, like the murder ballad “Bull Black Nova.”
There’s also a pleasant little Feist duet. And an awesome album cover. Nice.
So does that mean it’s the group’s Best Album Ever? I’d say no, but it’s probably their most balanced. Give it a listen before someone tells the group the preview needs to end, and let me know what you think via the comment section.
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