Uncut UK – October 2019

NEW ALBUMS

SLEEVENOTES

1 BrightLeaves

2 BeforeUs

3 OneAndA

HalfStars

4 QuietAmplifier

5 EveryoneHides

6 WhiteWooden

Cross

7 Citizens

8 WeWereLucky

9 LoveIs

Everywhere

( B ewa re)

10 HoldMe

Anyway

11 AnEmpty

Corner

Producedby:

JeffTweedyand

TomSchick

Recordedat:

TheWilcoLoft,

Chicago

Personnel:Jeff

Tweedy(guitar,

vox),Nels

Cline(guitar),

GlennKotche

(percussion,

drums),John

Stirratt(bass),

MikaelJorgensen

(keyboards),Pat

Sansone(guitar,

keyboards,

percussion),Paul

Von Mertens (sax)

OCTOBER 2019 • UNCUT• 25

ODETOJOYis nota
greattitleforGoogle
searchresults,butit
certainlysucceeds
asa statementof
no-fucksbravado.
Indeed,thefollow-up
toStarWars(2015)andSchmilco(2016)is
preciselytheoppositeofthegrandioseand
anthemicsymphonycomposedalmost
200 yearsago.Wilco’sOdeToJoyinstead
gentlyreframesBeethoven’scelebration
of comradeship for a modern audience.

Swappinga chorusofliteralvoicesfor

symbolicones,it’sa protestrecordonly

thissextetcouldmake,onethatrings

loudestinitssimplicity.It favourssubtle

texturesandhushedvocals,andfurther

revealsitswisdomwitheachlisten.If

BeingTherewasWilco’sBornToRun, this

is theirNebraska.

Tweedy’slyricsdon’tstrayfarfromwhat

wealreadyknowofhiswork,butherehis

poeticobservationsonself,placeandtime

areloadedwithfarmoremeaningthan

thewordcountsuggests.“I don’tlike/The

wayyou’retreatingme,”hesingsatthe

startofalbumopener“BrightLeaves”,

layeredwithambientsynth,feathersof

acousticandelectricguitar,piano,gentle

bassthumpsandthepatofslow-marching

drums.“You’llneverchange/You’renever

gonnachange,”hesings,resigned.

Thetempoebbsandflowsthroughout

OdeToJoy, butthebeattendstomirrorthe

paddedboomoffeetonpavement,a subtle

reminderofthefruitsofdissidenceand

a marchtowardthefuture.“Remember

whenwarswouldend/Nowwhen

something’s dead/We try to kill it again,”

Tweedysingson“BeforeUs”,which

blendstheacousticintimacyofmuchof

hissolooeuvrewiththeinventivetextures

andlayersofclassicslikeYankeeHotel

Foxtrot. GlennKotche’smistypercussion

andNelsCline’selectricguitarwarbles

elevatethetunefrommerefolksong,

thoughit fitssquarelywithinthecanon of

thatgenre’sprotestlegacy.

Throughout,however,OdeToJoy

refusestoallowpoliticstocreepintothe

narrativeinanobviousway,instead

focusingonuniversalthemesoflove,

memoryandhumanity.YetwhatTweedy

doesn’tsayis equallyasinteresting,with

theresultbeingthatthealbumcanbe

heardasa subtleindictmentoftheself,

ofourcurrentpoliticalquagmireand

itsmyopicrunoff,orasa challengeto

resistanincreasinglyautocraticclimate

breedinghateandhelplessness.It’sa call

tomarchforthinthefaceofunrelenting

tragedyandchaos,“alonewiththepeople

whohavecomebeforeus”, asTweedyputs

it on“BeforeUs”.

Anincreaseintempoatthealbum’s

mid-markunderscoresa newlyrical

clarity.“EveryoneHides”exploresthe

complexitiesofthehumancondition

whilethevaguelytiki-esque“White

WoodenCross”,completewith

GeorgeHarrisonslide,findsTweedy

contemplatinglossviameditationson

thehomemaderemindersthatdotso

manyAmericanhighways.“Women

andmen/Citizens/Carryyourowncross/

Careless/Careless/Youarethealbatross,”

hesingsovera clackingofdrumsand

percussionon“Citizens”,a hootenanny

fraughtwithconflict.

Thealbumculminatesinhighlight

“(Beware)LoveIs Everywhere”,a sunny

declarationthatrecallsthestripped-

downtouchstonesofElliottSmith– all

hushedvocalsandoff-kilterdrums– with

theadditionofa heroicCline-conceived

guitarhook.Thesetwoelementsgel

perfectly,likeanearthenmeditation

layeredwiththecallofa high-flyingbird.

Evenif it waswrittenasa cautiontoself,

asTweedyhassaidit was,it enduresasa

fittingreminderofourgreatestweapon,

oneonlywecancontrol.It works,too,as

a calltoaction,byrevealingperhapsthe

mostuniversallyunderstooddouble-

standardina mosttenderandprofound

way.“RightnowI’mfrightenedhow/Love

is here/Beware/Ourloveis everywhere,”

Tweedysings,a warningthatthoughlove

abounds,there’salsoneverenoughofit.

OdeToJoycountersthelooseandlow-

stakesnatureofStarWarsandSchmilco

ina seriesoffinelyhonedreflections

thataddsa newperspectivetothe

conversationofpolitics.If anything,it’sa

goodreasontobreakfromthealertsand

viralsoundbitesthatcomprisesomuch

ofmodernconsciousness,andengage

withperhapsthemostprimal,andthus

revolutionary,soundinthisdigitalera:

gentleacousticguitar.Andmaybethat’s

thepoint.Thesongshereare simple, but

they contain multitudes.

WILCO

OdeTo Joy
DBPM

9/10

Classicalrock:Jeff

Tweedyandco’squietly

revolutionarylatest.

By Erin Osmon