By Steven Spoerl
Earlier this week it was announced that Wilco would be streaming their new album, The Whole Love (due out Sept. 27- for the first time, on their very own label) in its entirety for 24 hours. This review is coming to you from early on in those 24 hours. Opinions may change, songs impacts may lessen or increase with the aid of hindsight and time but for now, these songs will be addressed as their heard. First impressions are always important in any mode of art form. So, here’s a recollection of thoughts regarding the newest set of songs from one of America’s finest bands.
The Whole Love starts off with opening track “Art of Almost.” The first thing that jumps out is the sound quality, or aesthetic, rather. It’s decidedly lo-fi in its approach, which is something a lot of people have been wondering about since the release of album single “I Might.” What’s surprising is how well it works. It’s an excellent track to begin with but by its fiery conclusion with one of Nels Cline’s most blistering solos to date, it’s fairly clear that this album will be presenting Wilco in their most aggressive light since A Ghost Is Born. Another small victory for the track is that it sets up “I Might” perfectly.
Now that a few months have passed to make sense of “I Might” with all of its quirky tendencies and blown-out bass guitar, it sounds better than ever. In the context of The Whole Love it works even stronger than it does as a standalone single. “I Might” was probably chosen as the single as it’s a fairly good signifier of the album as a whole- and well, it’s also a good single. That it does serve the album so well shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who owns just about any album from Wilco’s discography. Their sequencing has always been perfect and that’s probably not going to change.
“Sunloathe” the first slow track on The Whole Love is a beautiful slow-burner that shows how adept Wilco is at that type of song. The piano flourishes throughout are a particularly heartbreaking touch and Tweedy’s vocal arrangements sound a lot more inspired and free than they did on the bands previous two full-length offerings, Wilco (The Album) and Sky Blue Sky. It’s not really a stretch to say that it’s one of the better ballads of the year. Nor is it really all that surprising. This is Wilco, after all.
The following track “Dawned On Me” is pop perfection. It’s made up of pure blissful toe-tapping tempo and melody, catchy-as-hell melodies and great lyrics. Oh yeah- and whistling. It’s their catchiest tune since “Heavy Metal Drummer” and more than deserves all the praise and playtime I’m certain it’ll earn. There’s really not much more to say about it- any description that’s short, sweet, and to the point seems to match the songs manner, so that’s what’s happening.
“Black Moon” starts off with some beautifully arranged acoustic guitars and Tweedy practically sighing, “I was always right about the morning.” Some gentle slide guitar comes in and complements the campfire feel perfectly. Very few songs can have the listener hanging on to every word, chord change, and additional instrument on their first listen- yet, that’s exactly what happened. All the quickly-bowed strings, faint piano chords, and sneaky electric guitar lines add up to something extremely impressive and utterly re-listenable.
As “Black Moon” fades it opens up “Born Alone” which is a near-perfect distillation of all of Wilco’s strong points from their most classic albums- and it still manages to add a few things. Now that’s a feat. The band’s never sounded as atmospheric as they do here, with the drum rolls and screaming guitar riffs. The fiery horns and piano blast that follow the song to its glorious end is quite possibly one of their fiercest moments and will surely incite no shortage of head-banging. It all adds up to another perfect track.
“Open Mind” is a more folk-country sounding song than anything else that’s preceded it on The Whole Love. It’s still distinctly Wilco, though. With a chorus of “I can only dream of the dreams we have- our hearts will be entwined; if you would let me be the one to open up your mind,” that slightly changes throughout, that much is abundantly clear. Nels Cline continues to impress beyond all reason with his guitar arrangements as well. That final riff is a thing of beauty.
“Capitol City” follows “Open Mind” and it deals with mundane things in the most human ways possible. It also manages to sound like a mix of the last track and The Beatles. There’s actually a fair amount of Beatles influence scattered throughout the album, which is (puzzlingly) surprising. It certainly makes sense but it’s never been this evident before and “Capitol City” is most certainly the most indebted by quite a stretch. For all of its barely-hidden influence, it’s still another ridiculously strong track from an increasingly masterful band.
Afterwards they go back to blowing your speakers out with piercing 60’s organs and blistering guitar rock courtesy of “Standing O.” It’s a full-blown rocker that shows little to no restraint and it better off for it. For a band that’s been showing nothing but restraint recently, this is another exhilarating entry courtesy of this album. The distorted guitar solos, the previously mentioned organs, the strong vocals- it all adds up to another album highlight. It’s short as well, only adding to the explosiveness of the song.
“Rising Red Lung” opens much in the same vein as “Black Moon.” Some beautifully arranged acoustic guitar underpinning Tweedy’s mournful vocals. A series of images and questions are presented as another slide guitar comes faintly in and props the song up to country-folk-campfire levels once again. But as soon as it starts, it’s over. Like a well-phrased question itself, it leaves you thinking about it and trying to make sense of it all; quite a nice little trick.
When “Rising Red Lung” dies away it leaves things wide open for the (almost) titular track “Whole Love.” “Whole Love” opens with some floating in-and-out random sound arrangement before breaking into another tempo that absolutely begs you to bob your head along with it. “I still love you to death- I won’t ever forget how.” Tweedy sings in a falsetto, and at this point it’s becoming difficult to figure out if Tweedy’s addressing his wife, a fictional lover, or his fans. Whoever he’s singing to or about, it makes for a fascinating listen and presents another high point in an album that consists of virtually nothing but.
“One Sunday Morning (for Jane Smiley’s Boyfriend),” the albums final track, comes after “Whole Love” and again opens with acoustic guitar- this time backed with a nice little piano piece. Tweedy drags his words out and it only adds to the overall feel of the song, which is spiced up a small amount with a tasteful little xylophone adding a bright little melody. It’s another instance of Wilco finding the perfect song title. It really does complement the feel of any typical Sunday morning. It’s another exercise in restraint that winds up resulting in something wholly complete and wonderful. “In time you thought I would kill him- but oh, I didn’t know how.” Tweedy laments in one of the songs (and albums) most memorable couplets. Overall, “One Sunday Morning” is one of Tweedy’s finest lyrical efforts to date as an endlessly fascinating narrative of a character full of conflict and little resolution. There’s also an abundance of small bits of musical arrangements spread throughout the song that are nothing short of brilliant. “One Sunday Morning” may be the longest track on “The Whole Love” but that only speaks more to its endless replay-ability. It’s another absolute triumph from a band that’s already got a mantle full of them. It’s also the perfect ending to a near-perfect album with its beautiful little instrumental fade out that just seems to keep going along, effortlessly, holding you along for the ride.
All in all, The Whole Love is Wilco’s finest effort in some time. While the previous two albums did range from good-to-great they didn’t quite pack the punch that made albums like Summerteeth, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, and even A Ghost is Born so memorable. The Whole Love finds them returning to some of their roots and blowing them wide open while expanding (quite well) on the formulas they’ve been experimenting with both in the past couple of years and for their entire career. This is as strong of an album as you’re likely to hear all year with virtually no weak cuts, an excellent sense of pace, and- above all else- extremely good (and memorable) songs. Pre-order it or purchase it when you can. Wilco’s got themselves another very solid contender for Album of the Year.