Rating: NNNNN
Wilco’s ace eighth album, the first released on their own label, dBpm, is a real kick in the pants. Opening song Art Of Almost – a sort of rhythmically jerky, sprawling, Radioheadesque sonic experiment that climaxes with Nels Cline’s fantastically frenzied lead guitar – sets a bold, adventurous tone. (They opened with it at last week’s Massey Hall show, too.) You’d barely know it was Wilco if not for Jeff Tweedy’s familiar croon.
Things never again reach such epic proportions, though all 12 songs are infused with a vigour that previous albums, especially recent ones, lacked. Sunloathe evokes late-period Beatles, while Dawned On Me is classic mid-tempo singalong Wilco, once again invigorated by Cline’s in-your-face riffing and by long-time member John Stirratt’s busy bass work. Black Moon and hazy Rising Red Lung add a pensive touch, I Might is fat with a punky fuzz, while Standing O is a brisk slice of Who-inspired fun.
The Whole Love, in other words, has a whole lotta spirit.
Top track: Standing O
