Wilco (The Album)

Wilco

Wilco (The Album)

Album number seven from the influential Chicago alt.rock outfit

ADM rating[?]

7.7

Label
Nonesuch
UK Release date
29/06/2009
  1. 10.0 |   The Independent

    It's an album in the classic sense of The Band and Nevermind, beautifully conceived to reflect misgivings about its changing era, and executed with the kind of intelligence that can fool one into thinking it's instinctive
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  2. 9.0 |   Independent on Sunday

    Still, Radiohead notwithstanding, the best rock band on the planet. What you waiting for?
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  3. 9.0 |   The Quietus

    Tweedy's songwriting is heavyweight, effortless and classic, while Jim Scott's production nudges Wilco further up the scale on what might be regarded one day as one of those rare eponymous masterpieces
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  4. 8.0 |   Daily Telegraph

    Unflaggingly high-quality, Beatles-y tunes, less tormented than of old and with a yearning, uplifting summery spirit
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  5. 8.0 |   The Observer

    More Lambchop than Radiohead, a jazzy, easy-listening style makes this a natural sister to 2007's Sky Blue Sky. Revolutionary it's not, but this is still undeniably lovely.
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  6. 8.0 |   The Sunday Times

    For those content merely to live in a world in which songwriters as wonderful as Jeff Tweedy operate, and guitarists as supremely gifted as Nels Cline get to scatter gold dust over heartbreakers such as Deeper Down, Bull Black Nova and You Never Know, this 11-track sequence of complex, nuanced strolling-pop beauties and gritty alt-country jams will enthral
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  7. 8.0 |   Mojo

    Self-titling an album long into a band's life traditionally indicates creative exhaustion. Not for the first time, Wilco dump on tradition

  8. 8.0 |   Q

    Wilco have benn in more ambitious and unpredictable moods, but they've rarely sounded so in control. It produces surprisingly satisfying results

  9. 8.0 |   Uncut

    As an anthem made by men of a certain age who’ve been there, done that and taken the picture of the camel in a party hat (as seen on the cover), it works brilliantly. Wilco (the album) feels like Tweedy coming to terms with his past and his place in the rock’n’roll firmament
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  10. 8.0 |   Scotland on Sunday

    One Wing takes a bit of beating, the guitar hook soaring defiantly to a groaning climax. Then the closing Everlasting Everything demonstrates that devastating ability to do the simple thing brilliantly as Tweedy has done so often in the past. Not his best album, but maybe five of his best songs
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  11. 8.0 |   NME

    Whether it’s the panic rising to a ferocious climax in rhythmic lynchpin ‘Bull Black Nova’ or the sighs and swoons of the beautiful Feist duet ‘You And I’, the band have covered all bases this time; pushing themselves to experiment while still celebrating what makes their music so catchy and compelling. Quite a feat
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  12. 8.0 |   Rolling Stone

    At times sounds like the scarring static and cryptic impressionism of 2002's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot never happened... closer to Wilco's Big Star-in-a-barn debut, 1995's A.M
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  13. 8.0 |   Observer Music Monthly

    Haven't sounded this much fun in ages
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  14. 8.0 |   Spin

    When the biggest problems with an album are a couple of arguable form-function misfits, why fight it? Resistance for its own sake will only take you so far. As Wilco (the album) proves, sometimes submission is a beautiful thing
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  15. 8.0 |   The Irish Times

    More akin to Summerteeth than anything else. It was recorded in New Zealand and mixed in California, and the surroundings obviously seeped into the album’s tone. If this isn’t Jeff Tweedy at his finest, it’s Tweedy at his most consistent
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  16. 8.0 |   Evening Standard

    A record of great warmth. One Wing, You And I, Country Disappeared, Solitaire and Everlasting Everything are all carefully crafted, deceptively gentle songs, whose beauty reveals itself by stealth. All are impeccably performed
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  17. 7.3 |   Pitchfork

    This is not the music of men trying to be cool; it is the work of veterans unafraid to express mature emotions with an appropriate level of musical depth and nuance. There is certainly more thrill to be found when the band is acting out but there is something rather pleasing about hearing a band sound so comfortable in their skin
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  18. 7.0 |   Drowned In Sound

    There remains the sense of a band playing safer than needs be; a sextet pushing against their limits but never straining outright at them. Put simply, it doesn’t stick like their best work has, despite all its qualities and engaging nature. One thing is abundantly clear, however: Wilco love you, baby. Right now, that’ll do just fine
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  19. 6.0 |   PopMatters

    A “solid” or “sturdy” album—which is certainly what Wilco (The Album) is—would be acceptable from many bands, but not Wilco. In the end, they may be their own worst enemy: they’ve not only set the bar unreasonably high for everyone else, but also for themselves
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  20. 6.0 |   The Guardian

    The seventh Wilco album contains no great shocks: it's well written, nicely produced and tastefully retro, with a few vaguely experimental bits
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  21. 6.0 |   The List

    The whole thing is listenable and has enough sparkle to grace lesser bands’ outings, but at least half the songs here simply don’t live up to Wilco’s heritage. You couldn’t expect Wilco to keep replicating the bravery and brilliance of their peak, but you would hope for something with more bite than this
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  22. 6.0 |   No Ripcord

    After a decade and a half of self-discovery, I think that Jeff Tweedy and co. have earned the right to kick back and enjoy themselves a little. Wilco (The Album) is a celebration of the style the band has cultivated on its last two outings and in my book that makes for an enjoyable listening experience
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