via//chicago

np: "Country Disappeared" - Wilco

This band Wilco, I tell ya. They've got my number. They really do. With each new album that comes out, I fully expect it to finally be the one that feels lackluster or starts to make the band feel a little less essential. I won't be concerned when this happens, its just one of those things that happens to just about anybody who has ever had a favorite band with a career that stretches out a decade plus. Honestly, I've been expecting Wilco to let me down ever since A Ghost is Born was on the verge of release. Really, they were never going to top that 1-2 punch of Summerteeth and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Both very very different albums, but ones that totally succeeded in what they were trying to accomplish. The former being a modern day pop album that belied any attempts to dump it into the various subgenres people were itching to file Wilco in and the latter, well, I'm still not entirely sure but it certainly does a hell of a job exorcising that post 9/11 anxiety and dread (yes, I'm well aware of when it was recorded... but, still, wow, a very prescient pop culture artifact). So AGIB didn't have a chance. And it didn't top either of the previous two masterpieces, but it really didn't need to. It didn't even try, presenting an artistic left turn that found the band delving deeper into texture and krautrock without sacrificing the gentle beauty of Tweedy's lyricism or losing the pop knack. It was another resounding success. Really, in what world can any album containing "Spiders (Kidsmoke)", "Handshake Drugs", "Wishful Thinking" and "The Late Greats" NOT be considered a success? Masterpiece? No. Fantastic album? Yes. Sky Blue Sky followed three years later, scaling back a little and sounding like a lost singer-songwriter album from the 1970s. While certainly one of the more single-minded releases of the latter portion of Wilco's career, it is far from the boring trip the detractors will claim. Just listen to Nels Cline's life-affirming guitar solo on "Impossible Germany" again. Point being, it was another success. Not my favorite Wilco, but in generous moments I certainly could argue for it placing in the top three.

Which brings us to the cheekily titled Wilco (the album). I'm just wrapping up my second full listen and I'm thinking this will be yet another in their string of winners. It isn't better than YHF or Summerteeth (hell, not even Sky Blue Sky), but god-damn if the thing isn't eminently listenable. All the elements of Wilco's career is on display here, from Cline's fiery fretwork to Tweedy's confessional moments to the band's willingness to just play with sound intermixed with some great pop hooks. There's even an (arguable) alt-country song that wouldn't sound out of place on A.M. ("I'll Fight")!

This won't stand up over time as one of the pillars of the band's discography, but as a collection of great tunes well worth spending some time with - Wilco (the album) is an unqualified success. And in my book, any band with a run of albums like this is making a strong case of being the most vital rock band in America right now.