SOUND BITES

  From their inception in the mid-nineties, Wilco ran from the notion that they were a country group; while I'd never considered them as such, I conceded some alt-country leaning tendencies in their first few records, the kind of ragged and intelligent Americana that was miles apart from the chicks-and-trucks dreck that soundtracked beer commercials and line dances. Even at their most country (like, say, Casino Queen or Passenger Side from their debut), there was that burgeoning Wilco wit that elevated it from the majority of what the genre had to offer. By the time they developed into the American Radiohead not even a decade into their career, country was the furthest thing from most folks' minds when they thought of Wilco. It's a little weird, then, that their twelfth album (and second double album) would find the band fully embracing the country label for the first time. Now, it should be said that a country album from Wilco doesn't sound markedly different from ma...

"At the moment I'm bored," sings Jeff Tweedy a little over ten minutes into his group's tenth album, and boy do they sound it. Schmilco is a sharp 180 from the restless and electric Star Wars ; this, by contrast, is a record that presents the band at its most subdued, rarely rising above a breezy acoustic murmur. Even when it does get weirder and louder (as on Common Sense , the song referenced above), it's half-assed; the anti-soloing and off-kilter beat sound more like a band just recording whatever instead of the band that used to inject tension and dread into their experiments. There are a handful of decent songs here, and none left me totally cold, but there just isn't anything on this record that stands up to the trilogy of records released during their artistic peak (1999-2004). Hell, there isn't even anything that stands up to the three records they released after that. That's not to say the new songs are out-and-out bad, but I doubt any of t...

Maybe I'm in the minority here, but the noise wasn't my favourite element of Wilco's sound in the late '90s and early '00s, when they were cranking out a trio of nervous, anti-mainstream, mind-altering pieces of art (speaking, of course, about the Wilco Holy Trinity of Summerteeth , Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost is Born ). Sure, I was as taken aback as anyone by the discordance that crept into otherwise unassuming songs such as A Shot in the Arm and Via Chicago , but what elevated those songs for me wasn't the presence of the noise, but rather its circumstances; these now classic passages were often the result of a thick, palpable tension in the music that demanded to be released. So, when it was (usually in a gnashing cacophony of sound), listeners got that release too. There's a telling line on The Joke Explained , a song from Wilco's surprise-released ninth album Star Wars , wherein Jeff Tweedy (doing his best Lou Reed), exclaims "I clim...

One of the year's most anticipated releases has to be the upcoming third album from New Yorker art-rockers Vampire Weekend. Their light, unassuming style of indie rock has endeared them to bloggers and TV ad execs alike; their sophomore album, 2010's Contra, actually debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts upon release (not a smash hit as it was released on a quiet January Tuesday, but a #1 nonetheless). Now, as we near the third album's spring release, a few buzzwords are being thrown around in relation to it. Darker. Organic. Nocturnal. Whether this bodes well for the sound of the record is to be determined, but it got me thinking. Throughout modern history, bands have often made bold moves, twists in their artistic story arc that have polarized fans, critics and label heads. For many bands, this act of commercial defiance happens at a certain specific point in their careers. The "difficult" third album.

Apparently, I didn't wait long enough into the day to post new videos, or I'd have led off with the amazing new Wilco video for Dawned On Me .  The video is mind-blowing for a number of reasons, not the least of which being the fact that Wilco haven't released an official video for a single in thirteen years.  It's also a full-blown collab between the band and King Features, creators of the eternally endearing Popeye.  The end result is a truly great music video, as you can plainly see: Compounding the head-exploding awesomeness is the Wilco brand spinach which, according to the image on this website , is "coming soon".  Not that I feel the burning desire to instantly spurt ginormous forearms, but you have to admit it'd be hellacool to have a can of. For those so inclined to pick up the album Dawned On Me comes from, The Whole Love is Wilco's 8th album and is out now on dBpm Records.

WILCO Born Alone From: The Whole Love Released: September 27 Wilco fans can be a hard bunch to please.  Granted, when you grace the world with such a sublime and effortless classic as Yankee Hotel Foxtrot , expectations tend to be raised.  That album is the stuff of legend, partially due to its story.  The product of tension, exploration and drug consumption, it was the kind of album so strange you could see why a major label didn't want to touch it with a ten-foot pole (it actually cost them their record deal when Warner Bros. refused to release it), yet it was so thrilling you could also see why fans who heard it rallied for it feverishly (they eventually got it released on Nonesuch and elevated it to instant classic status).  It was the first album of its generation; buried by suits who didn't get it and resurrected by the internet not only as one of Wilco's better efforts, but also one of the greatest groundswell success stories rock has ever seen.