The world sucks, I don't know if you have noticed it. Jeff Tweedy yes and did us on a record, indeed three. The Wilco frontman described his new triple album as a humble attempt to react to the endless horror of these 1920s. And therefore if you are looking for 30 new songs written by the author of Schmilcoknow that Twilight override It will make you feel better, at least until it lasts.
Tweedy engraved it with the band that usually accompanies him, namely the sons Spencer and Sammy and various friends. Use its personal variant of folk-rock refined over decades to comfort those who listen with a warm embrace. The first of the three records introduces you to its world with the majestic melancholy of Caught up in the pastthe love rêverie of Secret Doorthe sweet twang of Betrayed. Even the vault he vomited during a year -end dance, in Forever Never Endsbecomes a sweet memory thanks to a poignant refrain worthy of Alex Chilton. The young alienate who was Tweedy never seemed so far away.
In the second album the first doubts are insinuated, and a few noisles more. Out in the dark It is a guitar pop rushed by a thread of concern, while Better Song It gives voice to the questions that the artists ask themselves late at night. In the third album the performances become freer, whether it's getting mess in the jam Lou Reed was my babysitter (what the title) or the story of what was unexpectedly beautiful a rockabilly concert in Stray Cats in Spainor even that sort of sequel to the underestimated Muzzle of Bees of the Wilco who is the title track. When the Tweedy texts get darker, the therapeutic power of vocal harmonies is always there to support it. And those harmonies intoned by Sima Cunningham, Macie Stewart, Liam Kazar and Jeff's children sometimes bring him to sublime places, see Ain't it a Shamereflection on mortality and youth, one of the most beautiful ballads that Tweedy has written.
If you are looking for a concept that unites all these pieces you can find it more or less in Feel Freewhere Tweedy shares some of the wisdom accumulated with age in a series of verses that resemble Mantra. Play with the myths of the rock (“Feel free / Let it Bleed or Let it be / John or Paul, Mick or Keith “), speaks that he follows his dreams (” Feel free / think about your name on an advertising billboard / tip of something you cannot see “) and to stay a little child (” feel free / pull the ball against a tree / try to recover the Frisbee “). More than anything else, invite those who listen to use creativity as a renewal and renewal force:” A record with your friends / Sing a song that never ends ”.
Or maybe the song that explains all the others is Amar Bharatiin which he sings of the Indian peace activist who has held an arm raised for more than 50 years (“it is not an invented story / and not even an exaggeration / is right there / at the top / since 1973”). It is a significant gesture for someone like Tweedy, who thinks that writing songs every day is an almost spiritual exercise, a commitment that requires a lot of work to have a meaning.
Who knows the music of Tweedy for a while will probably have another question: why hasn't he published these pieces with Wilco? After all, I am not in a radically different style from that of the band. And yet the question arises from an idea that would be wise to set aside. Jeff and the other Wilco have also recently made excellent discs. Compare their outputs of the mature period with those of the Radiohead, to mention a band that have often been compared, and you will see how lucky the Wilco fans are. Perhaps there is a particular charm in being able to make music without limits and without the expectations associated with a Wilco album. Or maybe more simply these songs with these musicians likes as they are. In any case, the result is unquestionably good.
Put together, these 30 songs strengthen and enrich each other by giving life to a colossal album that repays the time that is dedicated. You also make your playlist by selecting the pieces you prefer, if you want – Tweedy would give you its blessing with one of her “Feel Free” – but the truth is that there are few songs that is worth cutting from Twilight override. Even an interlude spoken surreal like Parking Lot He adds something to the understanding of what Tweedy has in his head at this moment (and after all, with a lot of imagination, one might think like a Springsteen song). And then, who came to the last of these 30 songs, which is titled Enough And it has a distorted electric guitar solo that is pure tweedy, it is convinced that this disc had to be triple. And this is a miracle.
From Rolling Stone Us.
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
