Rock? As one of the resident Wilco fanboys, I will do my best to remain objective. Wilco (the album) to an extent is an accurate summation of Wilco’s career. In many ways it is self-referential, as Tweedy and company recreate many of Wilco’s phases, especially Being There and Summerteeth. When most artists repeat themselves, they do not produce genuinely good music, but Wilco seems to just be settling into a comfortable sound. The material still sounds fresh and is… good. (the album) showcases some truly great moments like “One Wing” and “Bull Black Nova,” but as a whole this is no Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Luckily it is a decent improvement over Sky Blue Sky, but it is becoming apparent that Wilco may not give us another masterpiece like Summerteeth or YHF. They are just going to keep on doing their thing and if that means several more albums of this quality with a bunch of great songs and a few duds, then I’ll be happy. No FCCs.

1. “Wilco (the song).” Mid-tempo pop rock with smooth backing vocals, a little bit fuzzy, recalls opening track “Can’t Stand It” off of Summerteeth with bells. “Wilco will love you baby.” (3:00)
2. Soft acoustic beginning layered by slide guitars, harpsichord(?), other tuned percussion. Laid-back but interesting. Features a cool guitar bridge. (3:00)
*3. Takes all that was good from Sky Blue Sky and squeezes it into a concise song. Soaring, beautiful, and straightforward, this is a near perfect melodic rock song (3:42)
**4. Definitely the highlight of the album. A murder dirge; tense, claustrophobic, driving rhythm, a touch of krautrock, noise rock. Just stunning. One of Wilco’s finest moments. Nels Cline recorded his guitar freak out overdubs without the rest of the band. (5:39)
5. Sappy adult contemporary duet with Feist. Pleasant enough but this is a little boring and I could imagine this on commercial radio. (3:27)
6. George Harrison-esque, mid-tempo pop rock with loud piano; a bit fuzzy; lyrics are a little weak, but the backing vocals are lovely on this. (4:22)
7. Upper register vocals, pretty, modest ballad with a sad chord progression. (4:02)
8. Slow folk/alt-country with some tasteful organ and slide guitar. One of the quieter moments on the album; perhaps reminiscent of one of the slow songs on Being There. (3:05)
9. The riff is a variation on Sky Blue Sky closer, “On and On and On,” except it is better. Rhythmic pop rock, driven by organ and guitar crunches. Solid track. (4:24)
*10. Harkens back to both Being There and Summerteeth at the same time. Blissful backing vocals interspersed with rough-edged, fuzzy, rhythmic, Americana rock and roll. Ends with crackling vinyl. (4:14)
*11. Mellower, slow track, led by piano, bells, strings, bass guitar. Features a gorgeous outro/coda with reverse guitars, electronics, horns. (3:59)