During the second track from Wilco's new album, The Whole Love, front man Jeff Tweedy sings "You won't set the kids on fire. Oh, but I might." Wait a second? Is this the same band that was accused of being "dad rock" over the last few years? That "dad rock " label, by the way, came about after the release of their last record, 2009's cheeky Wilco(The Album). Something happened around that release though: the band, well, kind of got kind of boring, predictable even. The kraut rock explosions of "Spiders (Kidsmoke)", the notaglia evoking "Heavy Metal Drummer" or even the sharp, piercing guitars of "Hell is Crome" were nowhere to be found. Was it possible Wilco had just gotten too comfortable in old(er) age?
Well, tomorrow, The Whole Love, Wilco's 8th studio album, and the first released on their own label, dBpm Records, will hits stores, and if anything, the album shows that despite getting older, Wilco is not getting complacement. Like "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart", "At Least That's What You Said", and "Misunderstood", the band continues the tradition of strong openers on the striking "Art of Almost". The track begins with almost a bubbling of noise, as if all of the ingredients are beginning to reach a boil, and leads to one of those many moments, beginning at the 4:36 mark, where you realise how good of an addition guitarist Nels Cline, esspecially in the live setting, has been to the group over the years. Having been a member since the 2004, Cline delivers one of his greatest Wilco moments: an absolutely blistering guitar solo that reminds fans that Wilco can still deliver a surprise after all of these years.
Wilco have always been able to deliver a haunting moment or two on each album (see "Jesus Etc." for maybe the band's finest), and "Black Moan" is that moment on The Whole Love. Slowly plucked acoustics and near quivering stringsback Tweedy's near whisper of vocals. The power pop melodies of Summerteeth shine brightly on tracks like "Born Alone", "Dawned on Me" and the falsetto heavy harmony led title track, while the bouncy, British Invasion organs of the aforementioned "I Might" add a certain pep to the step of the album. "Open Mind" is a perfect reminder to fans that "Hey, Wilco used to be an alt-country band. And a good one too". Subtle slide guitar compliment the sun drenched melodies as Tweedy wishes to "be the one to open up your mind".
The album's centerpiece, actually, comes at the very end of The Whole Love. The 12+ plus min "One Sunday Morning(Song for Jane Smiley's Boyfriend)" is one of the most reflective, meditative pieces that Wilco has ever released. Tweedy's vocals have never sounded more relaxed and at ease as the song, without any real chorus, floats from verse to verse. "Bless my mind I miss, being told how to live" sings Tweedy as fluttering pianos, delicate horns, xylophone melodies gentle layer the song as they lead to the false ending before one last go. Despite it's length, the song never drags, but rather becomes a prolonged moment of intimacy which ranks, in my opinion, with Wilco's greatest moments.
Wilco may never again reach the heights of their 1-2 punch of the ambitious breakthrough Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and experimental guitar blitzkrieg of A Ghost is Born. With The Whole Love, though, fears that the band may be getting soft and at ease with age are eased. From the early days of alt-country days A.M. and Being There to now, Wilco's latest finds them mining their rich past while continuing to sound fresh and inovative.
Rating: A-
Wilco - One Sunday Morning (Song For Jane Smiley's Boyfriend) by vemeko
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