Music Review: Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
After twelve years of existence, Chicago-based band Wilco is set to launch their sixth studio LP Sky Blue Sky in May. The five previous releases have run the gamut from straightforward Stones-based Southern Rock (Being There) to highly experimental Noise Folk (Yankee Hotel Foxtrot). This time though, the seasoned vets take one melodic step forward and two sonic steps back.
With any sweeping change or compromise in style comes critical second guessing. Though, if anyone deserves slack, it’s Wilco after three solid efforts in a row. Scrutiny should be placed instead on Wilco's tumultuous member changes over the years. Jeff Tweedy and John Stirratt are the only two original members of the group. Now on their second drummer, and having been through a slew of multi-instrumentalists, the current lineup was brought in to support the vast landscape of A Ghost Is Born after Tweedy's ugly breakup with former writing partner Jay Bennett.
So, in what direction does Wilco head with the likes of Nels Cline, Mikeal Jorgensen, and Pat Sansone as the supporting cast? Amazingly, they scale back the technicality and revisit the alt-country skeletons in their closet. A strange late 70s Soft Rock/Fusion overtone is evident through the entire album too and on occasion you wonder if you're listening to the latest Steely Dan record before Tweedy's trademark sandpapery vocals snap you back into reality.
Sky Blue Sky, despite the flashes of crunchy rocking moments (see "Walken" and the finale of "Shake it Off"), thrives on its propensity toward moody ballads. Jeff Tweedy finally has complete control of Wilco's sound. He's surrounding himself with people that are only concerned with tricking out the framing of his Nashville acoustic sauntering. iTunes' pre-release single from Sky Blue Sky, "What Light," provides evidence for this in its Dylanesque musing, gentle piano dabbling, and lap steel breezes.
The outstanding gem that makes this entire listen worthwhile is "Hate it Here." Sounding a great deal like John Lennon's contributions to Let It Be, Tweedy narrates a story about a man doing house chores to stay busy after his lover has left him alone there. This tune broadcasts the maturity of Wilco in all facets- reminding us why we still love casting today's glow on throwback themes.
Wilco fans are bound to ask: Does Sky Blue Sky stand up to the brilliance of 2002's canonized Yankee Hotel Foxtrot? Probably not. But Tweedy and company do an incomparable job of distancing this album so far from its predecessors so that it can only be judged on its own merits.
What say you?!