I’m not too terribly familiar with Wilco. My only exposure to them is one song in an episode of Gilmore Girls but I liked it so I thought I would give their upcoming album a listen and see if a whole bunch of Wilco was as good as one tune on a soundtrack. The short answer is, kind of.
I can’t say I loved this album. Don’t get me wrong, there are some truly inspired pieces of music mixed in there. The problem is, they are smooshed inside some truly mediocre songs. The song “You Are My Face” was obviously inspired by Pink Floyd’s later works, but only in places. There are transitions that remind me of the better tracks off “The Division Bell” but for the most part the song is just kind of there. I don’t feel any emotion even though the lyrics are quite good. Sadly, this song is indicative of the bulk of the album. A lot of these songs would work well in a film or on the television show as a snippet of music. Several of the tracks, the aforementioned “You Are My Face” included feel broken due to awkward changes in tempo.
Wilco is heavily inspired by 70’s rock music. The Pink Floyd presence isn’t the only one that can be heard. There is a dose of Neal Young, Eric Clapton and Queen mixed in their sound as well. A lot of the lyrics seem like they could be blues songs especially “Hate It Here”, arguably the best song on the album and the one I’m most likely to listen to again.
If you’ve heard Wilco before and like their sound, I would suggest you check out Modest Mouse or Ben Folds for something a little better. Sky Blue Sky will be released May 15th.
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