Wilco (the album) is due out June 30 on Nonesuch, and Billboard offers a hint of what's to come, stating that, "musically, Wilco (the album) offers a little bit of everything while making good on frontman Jeff Tweedy's stated goal to use 'the studio as another instrument.'" The article offers insight on each of the album's tracks, including its "majestic" closer and "a gorgeous duet" with Feist. Blurt magazine's review of the band's new concert DVD, Ashes of American Flags, compares it favorably to Scorsese's The Last Waltz, leading the reviewer to commit to Wilco as "the greatest American rock 'n' roll band."
Wilco (the album), Wilco (the band)'s forthcoming studio album, is due out on Nonesuch on June 30, and Billboard offers a hint of what to expect. The magazine's Jonathan Cohen writes that, following the band's last new studio album, 2007's Sky Blue Sky, which "reveled in a cohesive, laid-back vibe and toned down the experimentation of its two predecessors [A Ghost Is Born and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot], musically, Wilco (the album) offers a little bit of everything while making good on frontman Jeff Tweedy's stated goal to use 'the studio as another instrument.'"
Cohen walks readers through each of the album's tracks, from "Deeper Down," with "a wealth of sonic details in its nooks and crannies," through "the gripping 'One Wing,'" and, finally, to "the majestic final portion of album closer 'Everlasting.'" He calls "You And I," with Feist and Jeff Tweedy sharing vocals, "a gorgeous duet" and sees "Country Disappeared" as "stately, harmony-rich."
There's much more on the album at billboard.com.
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Ashes of American Flags, the new Wilco concert film directed by Christoph Green and Fugazi’s Brendan Canty, hit stores at the end of April. But be forewarned: "This is not a live performance DVD," declares Blurt magazine's A. Watt. "It's too beautifully shot for that. And the way they've worked in backstage interviews and pre-show atmosphere, Ashes of American Flags (Nonesuch) is closer in spirit to Martin Scorsese's celebrated concert film, The Last Waltz, but without the sense of self-importance."
Of the performances from last year's tour captured on the film, Watt writes, "Nearly every song is stunning, as much for Nels Cline's shredding virtuosity and commitment to chaos as for Tweedy's aching vocals." The reviewer cites "Via Chicago" as an example of this and as "the one song guaranteed to make most viewers' jaws drop," as it sees "Tweedy calmly strumming his acoustic and singing, completely unfazed by the chaos his bandmates are unleashing all around him."
Watt reveals that, in a recent discussion with his fellow "music geeks" at the office, of "the greatest American rock 'n' roll band ... no one could really commit to a band they felt deserving of the title. Then I saw this film."
Read the review at blurt-online.com.
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