Somewhere in the year 2002 Wilco became America’s band. They became our bastion of intelligent art-rock and they proved that intelligent music with infinite possibilities was still being created. In truth, Wilco had been an excellent band for many years before the release of their masterpiece in 2002. Wilco had been putting out albums filled with excellent songs and pristine musicianship for years. With the release of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Wilco had become the America’s answer to Radiohead. Their ability to fuse ramshackle, found-sound, noise, and traditional rock n’ roll sounds into a cohesive album that people gravitated to was something amazing. I actually am still surprised the people gravitated towards YHF like they did. It is not an accessible album. When it does get accessible (“War on War”, “I’m the Man Who Loves You”) these songs typically end up dissolving into sonic maelstroms of guitar and white noise. Maybe it was the post-9/11 American landscape and culture of uncertainty and anxiety that drove people to YHF. It’s a claustrophobic album that fit the mood of the times in which it was created and consumed. In the same way Pet Sounds captured the hope of the mid-1960’s, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot fit a claustrophobic and scary new millennium.
But this article/blog/review isn’t about Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, it’s about Wilco and their new album The Whole Love. No article can ever be written about Wilco without mentioning their masterpiece as it sets the context for every subsequent album (For arguments sake, if someone wanted to say that Summerteeth is their best album I would not totally disagree). Unfortunately with each Wilco release after YHF I always have the same initial reaction: Wilco can be so much better than this. Typically this feeling subsides as I listened to each album and let it stand on its own. Unfortunately for bands that make a masterpiece and continue to put out albums afterwards their new work will always be compared to the high-water mark. Radiohead’s new albums will always be compared to OK Computer or Kid A; Sonic Youth will always have Daydream Nation’s legacy lurking. The fact of the matter is that The Whole Love is an excellent album. In my opinion it is their best work since YHF. Where is A Ghost is Born had very high-highs but petered out, Sky Blue Sky was a little bland on the second half, and Wilco (The Album) was boring and unmemorable (by Wilco standards), The Whole Love is consistently very good.
By now Wilco finally has a set line-up; they aren’t getting new members every album. This Wilco has settled into a groove. They rarely play a wrong note. There are subtle touches of slide guitar, keyboards, and vocal harmonies that pop up all over the album that make it a worthwhile aural adventure. Nels Cline is such a terrific guitar player that on first listen I felt he was underused. On each subsequent listen I heard more slide guitar, more crafty leads, and more melodic flourishes. Jeff Tweedy’s lyrics are filled with metaphor and nice lyrical segways. One of Jeff Tweedy’s most understated strengths is that I rarely hear him sing something embarrassing or ridiculous. I’d like to say more about the other guys in Wilco, cause they are generally excellent, but I don’t know their names. I think there’s a Pat and maybe a Glen…whatever.
As for the songs, like I said earlier, this is the most consistent collection of songs I have heard from Wilco in years, probably since Summerteeth. ‘The Art of Almost’ is an expansive number with drum machines, strings, and a wonderful guitar freak out coda. ‘I Might’, ‘Standing O’, and ‘Dawned On Me’ are fun rock n’ roll numbers. ‘Sunloathe’, ‘Blackmoon’, ‘Red Lung Rising’, and ‘The Whole Love’ are beautiful numbers filled with everything from harmonized vocals and quiet haunting melodies. Then comes the twelve minute closer, ‘One Sunday Morning’ a lazy jaunt that travels consistently without ever going anywhere. I am always amazed at songs that can be an absurd length and keep me captivated the whole time. This songs is a simple acoustic guitar melody, accented with piano, and Tweedy’s soft spoken vocals. It is so consistently beautiful and brilliant. The song reminds me of a long car ride with best friends in which it’s early morning, no one wants to say and thing but no one needs to, and a feeling of content can be felt as can be as the sun rises over the hills. Maybe this long song is an apt description of Wilco at this point. Not really changing but being consistently at ease with the situation and often creating music that is startingly wonderful.
