Wilco's recently released, seventh studio album, Wilco (the album), comes at a time in the life of its front man, Jeff Tweedy, when he is as happy and healthy as he's been in years, and, says Maxim magazine, that is a very good thing. Maxim's Chris Norris, in a feature profile of and interview with Tweedy and the band, says that while the "rock masterpieces" that are Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost Is Born may have been born of difficulty, the contentment Tweedy now enjoys has produced the "most confident album of Wilco’s career."

That confident new album, says Norris, "offers a focused collection of poetic, emotionally direct songs that explore fear, loss, and love from a midlife perspective." And he's not alone in saying so. "The critical response has been typically rapturous," Norris continues, "and as the band’s summer tour has proved, the album lends itself to some epic live performances."

While much has been done to glorify the idea that the best art comes from tortured souls (and, equally, that artists make their best art when at their worst), Tweedy's success, and the band's, suggest another possibility. "The triumph of Wilco (The Album)," Norris asserts, "ably rebuts the tortured-artist ideal."

Read the complete article at maxim.com.