Album Review: Jeff Tweedy, Twilight Override

In sharing the news about his decision to release Twilight Override as a triple-album, Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy stated that he’d been making so much music recently because, in a world of destruction and “a bottomless basket of rock bottom,” he wanted to align himself with the art of creation.

It’s a noble pursuit. However, it feels like releasing 30 songs in one go was a big risk, with little reward for anyone who isn’t a diehard Jeff Tweedy fan. Putting aside that the intentions are slightly lofty, the album itself lacks a certain cohesion. In offering three discs worth of new material, Tweedy is perhaps being over-generous, and the sound rarely strays from his patented indie-folk.

The album starts certainly starts well, with the excellent ‘One Tiny Flower’, and the moody, spoken word ‘Parking Lot’. Other highlights include the upbeat 'KC Rain (No Wonder)' and the hypnotic 'Blank Baby', while 'Stray Cats In Spain' has a nice anthemic vibe.

Otherwise, though, Twilight Override sticks rigidly to a familiar template – meaning non-Tweedy diehards should probably proceed with caution.

5/10