Wilco, 'Wilco (The Album)'

Release date: June 30, 2009
Record label: Nonesuch
Official Web site: http://www.wilcoworld.net/

The buzz: Over the last decade and a half, Chicago's Wilco have produced a nearly unparalleled run of records that have garnered them near-universal acclaim, from the Beach Boys pop of “Summerteeth” to the challenging experimentalism of “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” and “A Ghost Is Born” to the toned-down simplicity (and insane guitar playing) of their last album, 2007's “Sky Blue Sky.” “Wilco (The Album)” is their seventh full-length.

The verdict: Like their last two LPs, “Wilco (The Album)” is a grower, not a shower: on initial listen, it's easy to dismiss as Wilco's first-ever example of taking the easy way out—a collection of songs that, while good, don't set them apart as originators in any way. On subsequent spins, though, it becomes obvious it's all about the subtle touches: the meanderings of guitar hero Nels Cline on the otherwise mellow “Country Disappeared,” the careful strumming of “Deeper Down” or the lyrics in “You Never Know,” which takes a '70s-sounding pop song and makes it an indictment of worldwide paranoia (“C'mon children, you're acting like children/Every generation thinks it's the end of the world”). After years of member-swapping and inter-band drama, this is the first time you can hear the current incarnation's obvious chemistry; ironically, it's most obvious on “You and I,” a gorgeous duet between singer Jeff Tweedy and guest chanteuse Feist that's as effectively charming as the “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot”-era “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart” was purposefully disengaging.

Did you know? Tweedy's teenage son, Spencer, has a well-written, funny blog that sometimes references his famous dad at SpencerTweedy.com.

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