Wilco being Wilco. Americana, lo-fi, stripped down rock. I'm sort of glad they've stepped away from the arty "six minutes of feedback" model, and are back to making challenging yet groovy front-porch rock. Country twang, stick-simple drums, lo-fi layered guitars, and a near-obsessive sense of precision define their sound. I'm amazed at the sounds and feelings Wilco are able to conjure by what they DON'T do -- like a good trance band, their sparse sound invites your own melodies. Though: the nerve of these punks to inflate the size of their, uh, album packaging? I realise these guys think they're the new Radiohead, but that's no excuse to waste paper. Hope those pants fit, Tweedy.

try: 2, 12, 1, 5
no FCCs

*1. (7:17) lengthy and worth it. at the 1 min mark, becomes a dark and trippy groove with an atmospheric backdrop that sounds like plinking water. busy bass, blow-out reverb, great trip-hop effects. gets hypnotic by minute 5, a'splodes in minute 6.
*2. (4:01) classic. stripped down rock, lo-fi and messy, percussive strums, steady and punky kit, whistling harmonica, bashy happy chorus. right up there with "war on war".
3. (3:20) twangy discord. slow high-beam electric via sky blue sky. nutcracker piano, crystal clear bells. damn this would sound good on vinyl.
4. (3:43) warm raw rudder guitar. easy rockish melody. an otherwise great song is marred by the fact that, uh, madonna got to this vocal riff first. feeling shiny and new, guys?
*5. (3:56) fingerpicked acoustic and muted vibey electric. each measure slides into the next. what sounds to be a film projector running in the background. has a doomed, dark and warm folky feel. builds. the build includes strings.
6. (3:55) snap strums and melody-stealing bass. bouncy, easy, fun. almost ride-ish wall-of-sound electric. tweedy's dropshift is purty hilarious.
7. (3:40) slow sparse twang waltz. string-assist country/folk.
8. (4:04) upfront vox, cutesy slow-bopping beat. sounds like, dear god, randy newman. then: whistling, winds (is that a friggin bassoon?), shimmering synth effects. belongs on a kids movie soundtrack. ends with a cluster of church bells.
9. (3:29) loud classic rock guitars, fast rollicky beat. somehow too happy to be real rock-n-roll. also, handclaps. i'm not really sure what they're trying to prove here. fade out.
10. (3:10) slow, thin vox over sparse fingerpicking. nice solo electric later on. the melody sounds a bit too much like #12, and #12 is the better song.
11. (3:50) slightly honky alt-country. breezy and charming.
*12. (12:04) fingerpicked guitar and slow rich piano. great riffs on each. mild-mannered, muted and brushed. melancholy and careful. yes, the song really does go on for twelve minutes. (the opening lyrics warn: "this is how i'll tell it / oh, but it's long." tweedy really does have a great voice.