Wilco Brings the Noise—Sort Of

Select ratingGive it 1/5Give it 2/5Give it 3/5Give it 4/5Give it 5/5

After toning down their sound for 2007’s middling Sky Blue Sky, Wilco’s seventh studio album, Wilco (The Album), turns back toward the sonic experimentation with which Jeff Tweedy and company made their name. But fans accustomed to the band using their studio time to explore new musical territories will find a lot that is familiar on their latest release.

After kicking things off with “Wilco (The Song),” a light-hearted valentine to the band’s supporters, the record sets a steady course through its first 20 minutes.

Alternating between the more straightforward alt-country lite of their last release (“One Wing”) and the tuneful adventuring of Summerteeth (“Deeper Down”), the album hits a high point with “Bull Black Nova,” a paranoid murder fantasy in which Nels Cline’s guitar heroics cap the song’s steadily building kraut rock.

But about midway through the record, Wilco seems to run out of new ideas. The album’s second half presents listeners with a steady stream of sing-along melodies and workman-like verse-chorus-verse arrangements that, while enjoyable, lack the band’s trademark audacity. The anthemic “Sonny Days” recalls the rocking earlier days of songs like “Mondays,” while album closer “Everlasting Everything” features the same sparse atmospherics that the band perfected with “Jesus, Etc.”

In the end, Wilco (The Album) leaves the lingering sense of a band not quite sure where they’re headed. While the album contains a solid set of songs that would mark a high point for just about any other group, Wilco leaves you with the feeling that they could be doing more.

Be sure to check out FLYP's summer music issue, which includes a feature on the pop catalog of Wilco's label, Nonesuch Records.

And, listen to "Bull Black Nova" below.