Making a surprise appearance as a free download before its official release, Wilco’s first album since 2011’s The Whole Love is not quite what somelong-time fans might have been expecting. (Though given their chameleon-like stylistic about-turns over the years, anything is possible with Jeff Tweedy & co.) That said, Tweedy’s recent production work with Richard Thompson and Mavis Staples might have pointed expectations in a different direction.
Put it another way – if you’re looking for the cool alt. country of Being There or the ’70s-rock stylings of Sky Blue Sky, there are few crumbs of comfort to be found here. The not-so-cryptic clue comes right at the start; the opening track – a short instrumental – is a frantic, discordant, off-kilter piece that somehow works brilliantly as a taster for what’s to follow. ‘More’ blends glam rock pizzazz with late-era Beatles experimentalism (think T-Rex’s ‘Children Of The Revolution’ meets The White Album). ‘Random Name Generator’, meanwhile, harks back to the band’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot era, and is all electronic blips with driving Bowie Heroes rhythms.
Elsewhere, fuzzy rhythm guitars and swirling electronics dominate on the hectic ‘You Satellite’, while ‘The Joke Explained’ sounds like a psychotic version of Cockney Rebel’s glam anthem ‘Judy Teen’. Those with a fondness for the more accessible side of Wilco are catered for too, with the gorgeous acoustic number ‘Taste The Ceiling’ boasting as exquisite a melody as the group has ever penned. There’s room for more rock balladry as well, thanks to the sublime ‘Magnetized’, which closes this 33-minute affair.
A definite standout, the track finds Tweedy at his most John Lennon-like, with the singer channelling the atmosphere of the classic ‘Jealous Guy’. Time will tell whether Star Wars has the staying power of their best work, but on first listen, it certainly sounds like another.
KEY TRACK: 'Magnetized'