Wilco Schmilco (2016)

When Wilco announced the upcoming release of their album Cruel Country in late April 2022, it immediately generated a lot of excitement from a part of their fan base that hadn't been heard from much in a while. In the initial press releases on the LP, Jeff Tweedy described it as a country album, exciting news for the folks who had been following the band since their earliest days as Tweedy's post-Uncle Tupelo project, and had felt disappointed since their audible twang essentially disappeared with 1999's Summerteeth. But anyone hoping Cruel Country was going to take Wilco back to the rollicking alt-country sound of 1995's A.M. or 1996's Being There needs to adjust their expectations. Though Cruel Country is indeed the most "country" album Wilco have delivered in over 20 years, it's not "country" in the way they sounded in the mid-'90s.

Not long after releasing the dark and contemplative Schmilco in 2016, Wilco went on hiatus, and as the members involved themselves in various projects, leader Jeff Tweedy released his first two proper solo albums, 2018's Warm and it's 2019 sibling Warmer. Where Schmilco posessed a subtle but clear undercurrent of dread, Warm and Warmer were full of warmth and compassion, however wary, as if to offer solace after the band peeked into the abyss. After returning to the stage in mid-2019, Wilco have staked out a middle ground between Schmilco and the Warm duo on their thirteenth album. 2019's Ode to Joy comes from the noisier and more inward-looking side of the band's personality – this music will probably not go over at your next barbeque or game night – but as the lyrics contemplate a struggle between crippling fear and anxiety and a need to believe in something better, the music testifies to the strength of this band as they build something truly compelling and intelligent out of even the most seemingly formless soundscapes.

Jeff Tweedy has announced a new solo album. WARM is out November 30 via dBpm. It was produced and recorded entirely by Tweedy at his Chicago studio, the Loft, with his usual collaborators: his son Spencer Tweedy, Glenn Kotche, and Tom Schick.