Review Summary: Hey, Tweedy can shred too
A minimal riff slowly drawls from my speakers, forcing me to turn up the volume past a comfort level, as Jeff Tweedy's ominous whisper greets with a narrative, "As you sat down on the bed next to me/you started to cry." From this moment on, you are dissolved in what is sure to be one of Wilco's most eclectic releases in their career. I am an enormous Wilco fan, and simply love all of their albums, with the cliched response of YHF being my personal favorite.
They have always fascinated me, and basically it boils down to the genius that is Jeff Tweedy. Most Wilco songs are pop songs, that are thrown into a blender and "ruined", which actually makes them. I could never figure out how Tweedy could take something so beautiful and make it evolve into such darkness and oblivion ("Poor Places" "Misunderstood" "Sunken Treasure" etc.). On their 5th studio album, he takes this concept to an entirely different level. I have recently finished reading "Learning How To Die", the book written about Wilco up though the release of this album, and learned a great deal about the band, and a great deal about Tweedy and where his songwriting genius gets it's influence. The album opens in such a perfect way, that the listener knows they're in for a thrill ride. The soft strumming and vocals, segue into an acid meltdown of blistering guitars solos and thrashing drums. The last three minutes of "At Least That's What You Said" may very well be the soundtrack to the apocalypse as Jeff Tweedy all but tears his guitar in half with his whipping solos. "Hell Is Chrome" follows next and is a wonderfully soothing track. A loud piano slinks in following the settling smoke of the opener, but drifts along with a chilling solo following the last chorus. "Spiders (Kidsmoke)" is indeed the strangest Wilco track as of yet. It wastes no time with the keyboards and a simply timed rhythm opening up the track, with lengthy instrumental passages and Tweedy randomly throwing in his two cents with choppy, yet somehow coherent riffs. Save for the crescendo riffing that crops up a few times in the song that may be defined as the chorus some time down the road.
"Muzzle Of Bees" is probably the most touching song on the album, as it follows "Hell Is Chrome" in it's volume, but doubles the emotion. A softer acoustic song that gradually feels tenser. "Hummingbird" comes across as "Jesus, Etc."'s poppier brother. A simple pop song that incorporates violins like the aforementioned track. A simple diddy that reminds you this is Wilco you're still listening to. "Handshake Drugs" owns the title of my favorite track on the album. It has a very confident swagger behind it, while Tweedy sings quite lazily, but it grooves along nicely for 5 minutes before disappearing into YHF-like soundscape.
"Wishful Thinking" reminds me a bit of "Radio Cure" off the previous album, with Tweedy's anti-melodic vocal delivery and the darker post-country slide guitar resting comfortably behind the scenes. The next song is "Company In My Back", which is along the same lines of "Handshake Drugs" with a nearly sarcastic swagger. An extremely fun grooving song to listen to, even though I haven't fully determined who the lyrics are geared towards. After a short break, Tweedy brings the guitars back in full swing with "I'm A Wheel." This track almost seems out of place on the record, with it's romping guitars and Kotche riding the snare with Ken Coomer like authority. Seeing as this album comes across as Wilco's island of misfits, it's lies comfortably with the rest of the disc; a personal favorite. "Theologians" follows next, and is also probably in my top 3 on the album. A very cool piano groove dances along side some of Stirrat's best bass work, and Tweedy confidently swoons "Theologians/They don't know nothin'/bout my soul." The song builds into what I see as the albums centerpiece, when a crunchy riff drifts over Tweedy's increasingly irritated tone of voice, until he can take no more. After his point is delivered, he states the album's name three times, preceding a distorted held note. Great stuff.
"Less Than You Think" is a perfect title for the next song. Deemed the song "everyone will hate" by Tweedy himself. The song itself is a simple 3 minute acoustic piece which is disappointing for fans who pop in the album and notice that track 11 sits at 15:04. After the last note is struck, 12 minutes of noise soon follows. I, besides the notion of it being extremely self indulgent, have always just thought of it as the literal title of the album. The sound of the ghost being born, kind of lame, but a thought nonetheless. Once most have probably skipped or turned off the album by now, you're in for one last treat. The unorthadox closer, "The Late Greats." A delicious pop song that is a perfect in every right. The most upbeat song on the album, with Tweedy singing about the previous song and about forgotten singers and songs that won't be played on the radio. Such an incredibly clever way to close this bombshell of an album.
I apologize for the probably unnecessarily lengthy review, but in terms of Wilco, there's so much more that can be said even. This nearly rivals Yankee Hotel Foxtrot as Wilco's greatest achievement in my opinion, but you be the judge. A greatly dark album, that will at times test your patience, but leave you so rewarded in the end. Check out the rest of Wilco's catalogue as well, they are a band of epic proportions and truly one of the most memorable acts of our day.
