Wilco (The Album)

Review by Matt McKechnie

One thing that Wilco has done consistently, throughout the span

of their colourful musical career, is be inconsistent. The six man

Jeff Tweedy-led sometimes-rock/sometimes-country/sometimes-

blues/sometimes-pop band has managed to create a bit of a

mysticism about themselves in the sense that they truly cannot

be pinned down to one musical genre. My friend Jeff was always

into Wilco and truthfully, they were always a little too weird for

me. Over the years, though, I've realized that it's the quote un-

quote 'weird' music that is actually saying something noteworthy.

Their last offering (Sky Blue Sky) was met with mixed reviews

as it was far more stripped down than the usual noisy and sonically

experimental sounds of the troupe. 'Wilco (The Album)' takes the

band in a new musical direction and plays upon the un-peggable

nature of their essence. Tweedy's voice still leads the charge of

the sometimes uncertain musical terrain. Leading off the album

is the track 'Wilco (The Song)' which hinges on the repeating

refrain:

'Wilco/

Wilco/

Wilco will love you baby'/

It's almost as if Wilco hints at their own musical super-powers

in a jocular but semi-heartfelt manner. It works as a song and

knowing the spotlight-dodging likes of Tweedy, the band

probably had a great time making and recording this song.

Wilco's slick mysticism even bleeds into the realm of other

popular musicians. Cited as influences for legions of current

pop acts, there's truly no stone they have left unturned.

Even the lovely Lady Feist lends her soothing French voice to

the jangly/romantic pop stylings of 'You And I'.

But so what? So what if they joke about themselves and their

underground popularity? So what if they genre-jump? So what

if Feist and other huge artists love them? What is it that

keeps their listeners coming back for more? I think the main

driver to all of their songs is the voice of Jeff Tweedy. He is

the lone gunman on the vocal tracks and the voice of reason

amidst a smorgasbord of sounds. I think one reason why the

media has given this album such mixed reviews is because

they tried to 'get' something - when in reality, there is

nothing to get. That's the power of Wilco. Even when they

say nothing, they say something.

But don't you fret - Wilco will love you, baby.