Wilco’s seventh studio LP, Wilco (The Album), channeling its eponymous title, spins as a consolidation of singer / songwriter Jeff Tweedy’s oeuvre. Congealing alt-country, quasi-experimental and neo-folk, the album genre-blazes across the band’s decade and a half creative trajectory. Amidst up tempo percussion, titular track “Wilco (The Song),” an admittedly self-conscious “infomercial,” offers sanctuary from the tumult of everyday living, “Put on your headphones / Before you're exposed.” Throwing us off balance with inventive time signature shifts, the nurturing chorus echoes over a howling siren, “Wilco, Wilco / Wilco will love you baby.” In “You and I,” a tender, intimate duet, Tweedy’s heartfelt, quivering vocal is warmly complemented by the serene, angelic voice of indie rock songstress Feist. “You Never Know,” apropos of Woodstock’s 40th, jabs “Come on kids / You’re acting like children … Every generation thinks it’s the last.” Harkening back to rock ’n roll’s roots, sunshine-pop melodies are punctuated by fits of delta blues piano, twangy guitar bends and richly layered harmonies. Over the piercing spank of drummer Glenn Kotche’s snare, a triumphantly liberating, enlightened jolt, “I don’t care anymore! … It's a feeling we transcend.” Across the remarkably fluid 11 tracks of the LP, Wilco conjures deep sentiment in an eclectic blend of mellow guitar pop, lyrical precision and freeform jams.
Test Spin: Wilco
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