Reviews (page 4 of 14)
Kind of a crazy mix of things go on here - some of it was really lovely, the kind of music you imagine you would here if you watching Earth from space but some of it was truly chaotic. Maybe that was intentional, it probably was, but it kind of ruined it for me.
1.9/5 Nothing interesting about this for me.
wilco is growing on me. i’d give it 3.5 . downloaded 1,3,5,7,8
Supongo que no todos los álbumes te pueden gustar. Realmente quise que me gustara, pero honestamente no hubo nada que me encantara. Probablemente si lo escucho en un futuro quizás me guste más. Le doy 3 porque como álbum completo sí me gustó, pero no pude rescatar nada particularmente.
meh
A favorite of mine for a milestone listen. The only flaw (I feel) is Poor Places. I think that song was always my stopping point because I don't recall ever hearing Reservations and it might be my favorite on this album. 5/5
This was so close to a 4 star album from me, but I just don't really like the lead singer's voice that much.
Pense que no me iba a gustar porque es muy indie pero la verdad me gusto
I’ve never understood the appeal of this album and Wilco in general. It just sounds boring and I have never been able to get past that.
I agree with several reviews that say it's a boring album. Some songs were pleasant, but I wouldn't listen to it again.
This one didn’t hit.
A common critical discussion topic in the late 90s and early 00s was who would be the American Radiohead. A band that could be forward-thinking, even “experimental” while also tapping into the zeitgeist. Initial candidates even included Sunny Day Real Estate, perhaps understandable given Enigk’s soaring vocals and their roots in something akin to an alt rock scene before gracefully evolving into arena-friendly rock. But, they could never quite get it together as people and had label troubles on top of label troubles. Enter Wilco, who also had personnel difficulties and more famously, label troubles. But Wilco was born out of that dynamic and Tweedy and Margherita deftly navigated the few ups and many downs of the great label contractions at the turn of the century. Wilco themselves gradually opened up the Tupelo sound to variety and by the Mermaid Ave sessions, were letting in what lesser folks call soundscapes which I suppose passes for experimentation. And then thanks to a horrible terrorist attack, unwittingly tapped into the zeitgeist. YHF and Summerteeth presaged the 00s roots/Americana explosion, firmly situating Wilco in a space largely of their own making, occasionally nodding to folk/alt country roots, but largely charting their own path. Tweedy may have never found a writing/sparring partner who best complimented his talents again like Bennett, but this was a clear peak for their pairing, and would’ve only yielded a different kind of acrimony had they stayed together. It’s a career best and despite a pretty impressive follow-up, it’s perfectly fine to hold YHF in the highest regard.
Listened while working so not as much attention paid as normal, but really liked the vibes of it!
I felt the album was average no stand out songs but nothing that was bad to listen to just average
Kinda funky
I’ve loved this album a long time. This one may be getting a nostalgia boost, but who cares.
My brother is a huge fan of Wilco and this album in general. It's an album that has some real high spots but some parts of it are kind of bland by comparison. Not bad just not as memorable as the peaks.
to experimental for me
Very nice album, songs are so harmonious and soothing, very melody of drums
not listen yet, but is interesting
Okay, so i've know of this one for a while. Like 5 years ago I saw a thing that's like "An album for every year I've been alive" and I wanted to make my own, but I was very lacking in the 2000s department (most of what I listen to is new releases). I tried this one out back then, but it didn't click with me. I didn't hate it, but I wasn't amazed by it. I've still been curious about this album ever since. Why some of my favorite artists, like Samia, hold it in such high regard? So now it's time for me to give this album another try. Maybe I'll like it more this time around. 1. I Am Trying to Break Your Heart - lyrically simple but interesting. I like, but don't love. I like the sound 2. Kamera - okay guitars, I really really like the sound of this one. 3. Radio Cure - This one is just okay 4. War on War - I like the start. I liked this one pretty well 5. Jesus, Etc. - I liked the sound. 6. Ashes of American Flags - This one is fine. Taking a break til my pain goes away, holy shit. 7. Heavy Metal Drummer - Samia covered this song! This one is fun. 8. I'm the Man Who Loves You - This one seems cute & fun 9. Pot Kettle Black - Oh, I like the start. This one's okay, I kinda vibe with it 10. Poor Places - The style of this one isn't my favorite. 11. Reservations - I like that this one feels calmly noisy. It's got a serene yet eerie feeling about it. This one is good! I actually reminds me a bit of Ethel Cain's production. I think when I first listened to this I just really wasn't in an acoustic mood. There was a time i needed to escape that sound, the sound i kinda grew up with, to expand my taste. It's nice being back here tho, along with all the other styles I've collected an affinity for since then. This will probably never be in my personal top albums list, but I actually did enjoy it quite a bit this time around!
Oh yeah I'm vibing 😎
This album is the BEST… at being boring. Man even the highest highs of this album was at best a small hill. Jesus, Etc. is alright
Really liked it! Never heard it before
Great album! Why haven’t I heard this before?!
Everything is so familiar, I wonder how this album escaped me when it was released. Really enjoyed this one, a creative amalgam of early music in the genre, perfected in an updated style.
Fängt ganz okay an, wird aber mit der Zeit immer nerviger ich mag grundätzlich keine nervigen Alben
Laughably bland. This has nothing to say.
YHF was pretty cool. No creo que habia escuchado de Wilco antes pero esto fue un buen intro. Nice crisp rock sound. Mi fave fue Ashes of American Flags y Pot Kettle Black 3/5
First listen - there are some really exceptional musical explorations here, and some duds. But overall, this is something special.
I think there are aspects to this album that are beyond my understanding, so I can appreciate where they were going with this… still not my favorite
no me gustó mucho, no e smi onda
This is an album from a not-great period of life. I can see why it connected then.
Annoying intro. By track 6 I'm bored. The singer has stayed in one pretty narrow lane, and hasn't made much of an impression. The music is interesting though. The second half of the album was a lot more my style and I'm glad I didn't quit on it. The singer stepped it up a bit and the melodies were a lot catchier. Heavy Metal Drummer, I'm the Man Who Loves You, Pot Kettle Black, and Poor Places were all standouts to me.
I love this so much. Fxck! i saved the entire album😭I played it twice
Got already
It’s a decent, softer background type of album, but not necessarily my cup of tea. Despite that, it would fit great in the atmosphere of a local coffee shop! 3.0/5.0
I’m seeing Wilco this summer and have been meaning to give them a listen, so this arrived at the right time. This was fine. I think they’ll be a better band to see in a festival setting, but on record this was just okay.
God this guy's voice is depressing. For the first couple of tracks, musically I was quite enjoying it then it got a tad too dreary. Maybe listening to it first thing on a Monday morning wasn't the best setting
Pretty good, reminded me of Radiohead a little bit
Was ok
- Another Zionist. - I used to listen to this album along with Summerteeth (which I like more) before I started boycotting Wilco. This one is hit or miss - there are songs I really like (the first two, Heavy Metal Drummer, Jesus), and then there's everything else, lol. - I find Jeff Tweedy's tortured, monotone, lethargic voice that has very limited range can be a lot (e.g., Radio Cure) - I don't want to have to listen to him whine. - The guitar playing is pretty uninspired, so it's good that there is extra instrumentation, and some of it works really well (like the pretty keys in places) and the rest feels like it's trying to distract from the fact that there isn't really much to the songs or the standard instrument work (guitar, drums). For example on Radio Cure there's that annoying behind-the-beat banging on the guitar sound. - My main gripe with this album is that so many songs are plodding. Tons of skips for me here.
Dreadfully boring.
Enjoyable!
I wish this guy would shut up.
Not a bad album, but there was nothing catching me, the first song I got excited about was when a Neil young song came on aftger the album played through
An incredible achievement. One of the greatest albums of all time.
hadn't heard Wilco before, happy if I never do again, dreary crap.
Gosh didn't enjoy as much as I remember, few great tracks but kinda a little uninspiring this time.
Excellent.
Haunted-radio indie with a few too many off-tune piano moments—but ‘Heavy Metal Drummer’ is so charming it pulls the whole thing up a star.
I liked Kamera and I’m The Man Who Loves You. The rest just didn’t quite gel for me
So good they made a documentary about it! Genuinely a personal favorite and one of the most important albums of the early aughts.
Dang this album was better when it went plinki plonk and ooouuuuummhh instead of doo doo doo I can't decide if I like or hate the singers voice I guess lightly sprinkling some interesting experimental elements over generic rockslop makes something "artrock" and "one of the greatest albums of the 2000s" lmao Nah it's too late for more plinki plonk and ooouuuuummhh the album is over dumbass
Yesterday, Kacey Musgraves taught me that country-inspired singer-songwriter music can be good. Today, Wilco is teaching me just how bad alternative rock can be. The ingredients are the same as yesterday, just with the signs reversed: a singer with a boring voice who sings in an annoying way, “songs” you forget immediately after the last note, and a production that prioritizes effects (which are also poorly used) over a decent overall sound. Someone wrote that this album is just incredibly boring—but it’s worse than that: I’ve been listening to these guys for 50 minutes now, and all I can remember are random “sound effects.” You could call it art rock, I call it noise ****
3.5
It’s as good as advertised.
I've never been able to get the five-star love for this album but I do like it quite a bit especially when it hits its stride with the trio of songs "War On War", "Jesus, Etc.", and "Ashes of American Flags". (8.3) ★★★★
Great album. "Jesus Etc." Is the highlight. 4.5 stars
4.5/5
This album is an incredible peak for one of the great American rock bands of the last 30 years. It's a really cool blend of Americana and art rock that makes it sound timeless and kind of futuristic at the same time. For me, this is Tweedy and Bennett's best collection as a short lived songwriting team. It's a melancholy album at times, but there's also some wonderful bursts of joy and hopefulness. There's not a weak track in the bunch, though my minor complaint is "Poor Places" would've been a great closer. Highlights for me are "Kamera", "Radio Cure", "Jesus, etc.", "Heavy Metal Drummer", "I'm The Man Who Loves You", and "Pot Kettle Black". Easy 5 stars and one of the GOATs.
Wilco back my friends, to the list that never ends. I’m so glad you could attend, come inside, come inside. Sounding rather weedy, is a fellow named Jeff Tweedy. He’s wearing his mankini, look away, look away. Come inside the album’s about to start. Guaranteed to bland your world apart. Rest assured you’ll get your moneys worth. Check it out on YouTube free henceforth.
A good album that I'd like to give more time. There are definitely some great tracks here, but it feels like it will require repeat listenings to land on a definitive rating for me. It would be a four, maybe a five; until I can listen more I'll settle on four.
Interesante. Puede volverse medio denso
Just ok
Was outside of my norm, but I liked it. Happy with the suggestion.
It definitely has something althought I don't know what it is. Not sure if it deserves it mythical status but it is a good record.
Production was good but his voice is so so dull
The production is so impressive here but some of the songs were missing a bit of something that was needed - maybe with time these will click but for now I'm going 3*
One of my top 50 albums. No need to defend it here
*2001. *I feel like I should like Wilco since alt/indie rock is my thing, but they just don’t do it for me. *The songs aren’t compelling or memorable. The vocals are meh. It’s good background music, but otherwise not great. *First song is silly, but the most memorable of the bunch. RATING - 6/10
It’s a bit quiet for me at the start. I really like “ I’ll the Man Who Loves You”
Fave song I’m the man who lost you Jesus ect Heavy metal drummer Back half of the album is much stronger than front
Album 15 3/19/26 One night after a dive into the limited number of Olivia Tremor Control live performances available on youtube, I once found a surprisingly faithful cover of my favorite song at the time " the next thing that autoplayed was a somehow even more chillingly accurate "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart" by the same group. They turned out to be called Luna Tango, the band club of a Japanese university. I performed in and led such an organization at my alma mater of SIU Carbondale so it was that much more relatable of a performance. Wilco, especially latter day Wilco singles, have been part of my Chicago suburbs musical background for many years. I'm a little surprised Wilco's earlier albums than this one are well represented but nothing after 2002 is listed, so I want to shout out the Nels Cline years, Wilco (The Album) (2009), and Star Wars (2016) for being awesome albums. Opener I Am Trying to Break Your Heart is a perfect 5-star album tone setter, and then the album's pace builds to War on War, and peaks with Jesus, Etc. I can never resist singing along to that one with a little vocal fry and melodrama. My two favorite second half songs are the sincere and also personally relatable Heavy Metal Drummer, and the sweet elephant 6 style horns and avant-garde guitar blasts of I'm the Man Who Loves You. I usually misremember the album as ending there, a little because the last 3 tracks that bring the album from 40 to to 51 mins are not as strong, but also because of the full-circle moment of the "I'm the man that loves you" shout at the end of the first track. Most underrated tracks are probably Pot Kettle Black and Kamera. The album ends with a decent closer Reservations and a song-length sound collage. The sensible politics, the good acoustic/electric blend of instrumentation, and poetic lyrics make this a solid 5 to my ears.
Wilco is one of my all-time favorites and this is their masterpiece. Easiest 5 for me so far.
B+
very interesting sound and vibe. would recommend but not something i'd play!
okay really big fan of whatever the hell is going on in I Am Trying to Break Your Heart. IT'S LIKE IF COLDPLAY WAS LISTENABLE! I dig it! (aka guy with slightly whiny voice in an alt rock band). Heavy Metal Drummer is really cute :)))) Mostly neutral with a few notable exceptions. Better than Coldplay!
Cozy, intimate, a little rough around the edges, but makes you feel good. This is the solid dependable bourbon in your liquor cabinet, no frills, just a lot of solid songs with some wild stuff in the background. It's hard not to love this album, though it's not perfect by any means. But it's still well worth the effort.
Great album from a fine band
Solid straight-ahead post-punk and proto-indie, with a surprising ear for melody. Feels very teen angst, though, and so an odd one to come to in my 40s. Still, a great record, and one I'll be coming back to.
This was a good find on the list. Can't believe this album escaped me back then, although I was mainly listening to metal at the time. Really enjoyed this and looking forward to becoming more acquainted with it going forwards. 4 stars, but a strong 4.
nice mellow sounds here good song writing
This one was a nice surprise, really liked it and more to my tastes. Despite that there weren't really any breakout points where I loved it. The songs that felt like they were the album hits I wasn't as keen on. Very good vibes release.
Im not sure what did u just listen
yk what hell yeah i enjoyed
Another solid album by a solid band. The fact that they are rooted in country is incredible, because the end product is something so different and incredible. Lirically, musically and vocally just beautiful. It isn't perfect, but it's an incredible album experience nontheless. 4.5/5
Never listened to this before but knew it was praised by many. Very good album, and falls right into the type of music I tend to enjoy.
Strong and no doubt influential on the crop of Americana tinged indie rock that pervaded the 2010s. This album doesn’t have distinct enough songs for me to latch onto, but I liked it.
Album war sehr gechillt. aber keine richtigen Ohrwürmer dabei , oder songs die in erinnerung belieben
Mag das Album Cover Sieht aus wie Mais Zwischendurch hab ich so nen kleinen Funken von was nostalgischem gefühlt, so dieser sehr typische Indie Sound der 2000er Jahre Dann auch ein bisschen Ikea Vibes
Ruhig und tragisch zugleich Anstrengendes Rauschen / Verzerrt Das Cover gefällt mir Was für eine Art Musik soll das sein? Stimme an sich gefällt mir Jesus, etc fand ich schön. Hab’s nicht geschafft es ganz fertig zu hören…
Bei jedem Hörversuch bin ich abgedriftet und ich weiß nicht wie sehr das für das Album spricht. Ist halt irgendwie Hintergrundmusik. Heavy Metal Drummer mochte ich weil da mal was passiert. Nicht super viel aber zumindest etwas. Also ist weit weg von schlecht aber muss nicht.
Schwieriger Einstieg so ab dem 3./4. Track kamen aber 20 gute Minuten. Ist mir teilweise zu experimentell. In manchen Tracks aus dem Nichts Störgeräusche. Fav: Heavy Metal Drummer
Wilco's one of those supposedly-great bands I checked out in my early 20's and immediately disliked. Almost 20 years later, still feel the exact same.
Americana gold
This is my second Wilco album on this list and it's so much better, much more indie rock than what I was expecting.
Fun, but not much my vibe.
Good album. 3,5
New to me and rather enjoyable
It was alright. I have listened to a bit of Wilco before and it is an ok listen but doesn't excite me.
Ranged from enjoyable to forgettable.
I have a friend who has been screaming about the brilliance of Wilco for years. I assumed they were a job band. They're not (really). They're mostly like, generic indie rock? I really wanted to love this album, but I found t only average. sorry Nate.
not good
Birthday listen. An easy 5 stars.
I enjoy!!!!
Is Wilco and this album way over hyped and over rated? Totally. Is my job to under rate this album as some sort of correction? Not at all. I'd give it 7/10, but I'll round up to 4/5.
6/10… 00er indie / country rock / *2001
Interesting, not sure what I was expecting but it was a pretty diverse album, nice listen. Feels familiar but wasn’t. 4/5
This is one of those albums that works well in the background, and yet interesting enough for an intentional listen on headphones.
Nice easy listen :)
I have this album
raro, piola, medio tom yorke, daft punk pero tb + melodico, rock chill
I like quite a few eras of Wilco’s catalogue. The AM, Being There, and Summerteeth records are badass, the Ghost is Born record after this one was a little more challenging for me to get into, but great once I settled into it. I kind of lost track after that record. But Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was kind of the pinnacle of Wilco’s work for me. The first couple listens were really challenging for me 25 years ago, but some time during the third spin everything about this record “clicked” for me, and I think it spent 2 months in my cd player on repeat. I still listen to it with great relish. It’s pretty damn close to a perfect record for me. 10/10
Best Track - "Jesus Etc."
I thought I was gonna give this a worse review - I listened to this album a couple of years ago and was not impressed - however, I think my tastes have changed slightly, and this is more enjoyable. I like the low-fi production, even if I don't really like the lead's voice. 3 stars flat
recuerda a cosas que ya he escuchado
"This was a fun little album. It screams 2000s indie but in a good way. The lyrics are full of whimsy backed by catchy instrumentals. Crazy how this album was supposed to drop on 9/11 when the album cover is two buildings and there's lyrics about "tall buildings shake."
Not bad, kinda feels like a little like modern classic rock.
Not bad but also there's not anything particularly noteworthy about it. There are a couple of good songs here but the majority of this album is just kind of boring. I'd probably say my favorite track is I'm The Man Who Loves You. Again, this album isn't bad, just nothing special.
7 stars out of 5
Kind of epitises late 90s-early 00s indies. Nice, but just a little bland.
Jamais écouté avant. Un album qui parvient à paraître bordélique tout en restant cohérent. Une prouesse de songwriting sous influence bruitiste, presque psychédélique. Très fort. Top : Jesus, Etc. Flop : Reservations
non è il mio genere, ma ho comunque apprezzato
Really not sure where I fall with this album. It has a couple of good tracks (I’m The Man Who Loves You, Heavy Metal Drummer) and the rest just leaves me a bit cold. It’s not actually bad, but fact is,I’m struggling several hours later to recall much about any of them. Seems Wilco committed the ultimate sin of just being a bit dull with this collection of songs, and I can’t really figure out why it is so critically revered. 3 stars which is a middle of the road score for a middle of the road album
Mother fucking Wilco n shit
Beautifully unsettled. The mix of fragile songwriting and subtle sonic weirdness gives it a quiet tension that keeps revealing new details. Not every detour lands, but the mood is hard to shake.
I got really bored. I can't believe this is from 2003. I get that there are bands that are trying to sound vintage, but why do they need to be included here if there is virtually NOTHING different from older bands that are on this list. Really, I am ok with new music that sounds vintage if it has at least something that anchors it to the modern age. This ain't it for me.
3.4
Cool indie album.
Reminds me of my first apartment at the covey. Oscar loved it! Fave is Jesus, Etc.
I feel bad giving every album a 3 for the rest of time but this was the perfect 3… there were parts that I loved and I cannot tell you when any of them were, nor can I tell you what any of the songs sounded like. was nice tho
The album was a little too sleepy for my ears when I listened to it. I'll give it a second try since people find value in the album (Hannah told me that this was the only CD in the lab truck she drove for her MS research).
Self-insistent, mopey
"I am... inevitable" - Wilco, probably
i like this.
I don't think I had ever consciously listened to a Wilco song before this, so I wasn't sure how I'd feel. The highlights for me were Jesus, Etc, I Am Trying to Break Your Heart, Poor Places and Ashes of American Flags. The other tracks were a little too muted for my tastes, or at least too subdued for what I was looking for yesterday. I could see this having much more to offer in the future. 3-3.5
For me to discuss what this album means to me, I have to first discuss what Wilco is to me as a band, which will, unfortunately, require a slightly long digression into what Wilco is not and what they were once understood to be. Everybody got that? Because this could get really heated. In 2007, Rob Mitchum reviewed Wilco's sixth album, Sky Blue Sky for Pitchfork. The review was, characteristically for Pitchfork, more negative than that of most other critics. He rated the album 5.2/10 and dismissed its "unapologetic straightforwardness," stating that it "nakedly exposes the dad-rock gene Wilco has always carried but courageously attempted to disguise." Not only does the review essentially dismiss a band of dudes in their 40s for not making music expressly designed to appeal to 20-something-microbrew enthusiast, it also attempts to retroactively discredit that band’s whole body of work. This vitriol, if I can psychoanalyze the mid-2000s hipster brain, seems to stem from a sense of betrayal. You see, Wilco's run of albums from Summerteeth --> Yankee Hotel Foxtrot --> A Ghost is Born were "weird" and "experimental" (you'll never know how much I hate that word) and had established Wilco as America's answer to Radiohead. It doesn't matter that Wilco themselves never really intended to push music in brave new directions and were, in fact, a midwestern alt-country band that just happened to dip their toes in the waters of indie rock for a brief period before moving on (I call this a "reverse Pavement"). Because they happened to feature somewhat unorthodox instrumentation on a few songs, they must have been making Kid A part 2. What self-styled purists called "real" Wilco was, in fact, just a phase, with Sky Blue Sky marking a return to the sound of albums like A.M. and Being There, albeit with more proficient musicianship. Mitchum expressed his regret at the review in 2019. He, quite literally 3 weeks ago, was on a podcast discussing the subject. In 2021, Pitchfork quietly changed its position on Sky Blue Sky, calling it "essential" and rating it an 8/5/10. Jeff Tweedy has consistently voiced his displeasure with the dad rock tag, calling it "unflattering and hurtful" in 2014 and "reductive, ageist, gatekeeping" in 2023. While promoting Sukierae, the 2014 literal-dad-rock-because-it-was-just-him-and-his-son album, he insisted that Wilco were never cool or, at least, never tried to be cool. And while it's easy to knee-jerk and call him (and, yes, me) thin-skinned for being bothered by internet memes, I think there's no lazier form of criticism than being dismissive of things for being too popular with the "wrong" people. Even if we start from the premise that it's somehow unusual that a band of middle-aged men is especially popular with middle-aged men, to act like that invalidates them as artists is lazy. Just as it's lazy when the rockists on this site talk shit about Taylor Swift for being too popular with young girls, it's lazy when people boast that they'll never watch Star Wars because it's for neckbeards, it's lazy when the worst kind of person on Twitter calls it a "red flag" for a dude to enjoy Fight Club or The Catcher in the Rye. It’s all just a way to say, “this thing is popular but I refuse to engage with it, as it is primarily enjoyed by people to whom I feel morally and / or intellectually superior.” You don't have to like everything and, I would actually really strongly encourage you to not like everything, because if everyone had the same tastes then everything would look, sound, and taste the same a la the gray blob episode of The Fairly Oddparents. But I would also really encourage you to engage with art on its own merits or shut the fuck up. My own relationship with Wilco began with this album, included in some listicle about “times bands totally pwned their labels” (more on that later) or something to that effect. Like some others we've discussed, I can remember exactly where and when I heard this album. I initially classified it as "pretty good, not great" and "overrated" because I was a teenage boy and thought being contrarian and edgy made me cool. I too fell into the trap of comparing Wilco to Radiohead and, even worse, I fell into the trap of thinking this was in any way an original thought. In 2013, as a high school graduation present, my brother got me tickets to the Americanarama Festival of Music, headlined by my forever GOAT Bob Dylan and featuring support from Wilco and My Morning Jacket. Wilco was the act on the card for which I had the least enthusiasm because, as you would know if you read the paragraph above, I had declared them "overrated." They, in short, won me over through a stellar cover of George Harrison’s “Isn’t It a Pity,” where they were joined by Jim James, and through multiple subsequent concert experiences I have declared them to be the best touring band I've ever seen. Whether it's entirely true or not, they also became my default answer when asked who is my "favorite" band just because they're the only constant presence in the Top 3. The fact that I didn't immediately love this album represents, I think, one of the most radical shifts in my identity over my 31 years of life. It was the first album I ever bought on vinyl, and later incorporating it into my wedding decorations. The CD stayed in my old car's CD player for years and is, I think, the only CD I still own. When close friends visit Chicago, I will receive texts with pictures of the Marina City Towers and have been expressly told by someone "When I think of Wilco I think of you." I overcorrected to the point that I had "American aquarium drinker" as my Twitter bio for ages. I'll talk about Yankee Hotel Foxtrot now. If you're still reading this, text me a zebra emoji. The circumstances of this album's creation are, more than anything, probably responsible for its reputation. I'll reiterate, briefly, the three most notable things about this album, in order from least to most interesting. 1). Jeff Tweedy was struggling with addiction and mental health issues. He and Jay Bennett were in the midst of a tremendous falling out, and everyone hated everyone, as captured in the incredible I Am Trying to Break Your Heart documentary, which at times feels almost like a horror movie because of how uncomfortable the levels of passive aggression can be. To psychoanalyze again, it's more likely than not that a decent amount of his resentment toward the whole "dad rock" thing stems from the fact that his "good" music was made at such a low point in his life and the music made when he was in a much better place gets shat upon for being "dull" (read: too earnest). 2). Wilco turned in the album to their label, Reprise, with the intention of releasing on September 11, 2001 (an important date to remember!) who hated it so much that they refused to release it. Wilco managed to negotiate their release from the label and take the album with them. They offered it as a free stream on their website a couple of weeks later and people loved it. So, Wilco negotiated a deal with Nonesuch Records to actually release the album in April. Nonesuch and Reprise were both imprint labels of Warner Bros and, thus, Warner Bros famously "paid for the album twice." 3). The 9/11 of it all. Some of this album is so clearly about 9/11, and yet it also literally cannot possibly be about 9/11. Remember, the album was actually scheduled to be released ON September 11, 2001, meaning it was written, recorded, mixed, and sequenced prior. Because it was officially released later, it became "common knowledge" that album was intended to comment on 9/11 and the US response thereto. Jeff Tweedy was viewed as the Chicago suburbanite alt-rock answer to Toby Keith. The two towers on the cover, songs like "War on War" and "Ashes of American Flags," lyrics like "tall buildings shake, voices escape singing sad sad songs" and “voices whine, skyscrapers are scraping together.” But fucking all of it is wholly unrelated coincidence. Now, I'll talk about MY thoughts on Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. I saw another reviewer say this album never tells the listener how to feel, but forces them to feel a certain way; and I like that. Jeff Tweedy is part of that elite gang of songwriters whose lyrics are as intriguing to me as his sound. Every song on this album has at least one line that makes me do a double take. This album is fucking sad. Even when it sounds happy, it’s through the lens of so much pain. The amount of static and feedback on these songs, combined with the amount of nostalgia, regret, and straight up apocalyptic imagery in these lyrics has always made me feel like I was listening to a broadcast beamed back in time from a bunker at the end of the world. I fully intended to do a write up on every individual song (and actually did write most of it) but if I spotlight everything I’m not really spotlighting anything. And also like 3 of them were just some variation of me saying “this is a perfect pop song” (“Heavy Metal Drummer,” “I’m the Man Who Loves You,” “Pot Kettle Black”). "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart" is a bold album opener. It sets a scene but it is not at all a pleasant scene. The lyrics are cryptic and Dylan-esque, I don't know what "I assassin down the avenue" or "take off your band-aid cause I don't believe in touchdowns" means. But then when those lines are juxtaposed with the brutality of "This is not a joke so please stop smiling" and "You were so right when you said I'd been drinking" and "I always thought that if I held you tightly, you would always love me like you did back then" and "Still I'd be lying if I said it wasn't easy" the effect is simultaneously dreamlike and all too realistic. Even when I was in my "this album is overrated" phase, this was a song I would play on repeat. Not because I could relate to it, because I could not then and still cannot now, but because the mindset of this character felt so disturbing but also believable. It’s a similar mindset to “Kamera,” which is a great entry into the canon (that was a pun about cameras) of happy-sounding upbeat songs that are actually pretty fucking bleak. Those opening lines are perfect. “Radio Cure”’s “Distance has no way of making love understandable” is like this grim fucked up inverse to “absence makes the heart grow fonder” and I think it’s probably more accurate. The fewer experiences we share, the harder it is to maintain emotional connections. “Jesus, Etc.” is, I think, the most popular Wilco song, right? Like, if you only know one, it’s that one. And it’s also got some really powerful imagery. Not just the tall buildngs/skyscrapers stuff I mentioned but also, “you were right about the stars, each one is a setting sun” getting called back with “everyone is a burning sun.” It’s actually a pretty heavy song to be thrown in the middle of an album and especially to be as popular as it is. Ending with “Reservations” is a powerful move that demonstrates, at least, attempts at growth. Lyrically, it is essentially “I am trying to do anything BUT break your heart.” Today was the first time in I don’t even know how long that I’ve LISTENED TO Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, as distinguished from having it on in the background while I drive or do chores or whatever and I’m understanding more than ever what makes it so special. The themes of isolation and regret, but also the need for communication and connection.
Sleepy, boring, even a little corny? This is how I've at least partially felt about Wilco, and some other indie bands of their era. So, I really sat with this album to give it a shot and unpack why Wilco hasn't clicked for me. Here's what I did appreciated this time around: how much character they're able to squeeze out of a traditional 5-piece. Less is more here for sure, but that isn't to say Wilco's sound is simple; they're instead making something unique out of simple ingredients. This simplicity lends to a vulnerability in Jeff Tweedy's voice and songwriting, and I think that's where I get stuck. Vulnerability should be celebrated! But these earnest lyrics aren't hiding, or even tucked between fanciful production. I want big guitars! Inventive synths! A huge sound with a collage of details! But for Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, you have to confront what Tweedy is saying and the character of his voice, and maybe that discomforts me. Did this help me take a step towards appreciated authenticity and vulnerability in art? Maybe! Is it cheaper than therapy? Yep.
4 - great album, but a little too subdued
Pretty solid album, I enjoyed the vibe a lot. Definitely want to revisit in the future, I’m kinda getting why People love the band. Low key vibes, I think it’ll grow on me. 4 stars
no notes its ok
Has been in regular rotation since college. Perhaps the pinnacle of indie rock. Nearly flawless record melding melodic, Americana sensibility with studio fuckery, obtuse lyrics, and atmospheric beauty.
I wanted to tap out of this album less than two minutes into it, and nothing after that redeemed it. It's boring, and if you like it, I'm convinced you're a boring person.
Great, more depressing 2000's indie. This sounds like the cure for insomnia. Would it kill them to add some dynamics, or maybe a tempo change? Doldrums defined.
Really lovely
Great but I’m not a huge fan.
'Pot Kettle Black'. 'Radio Cure' but only just. In 'I'm the Man Who Loves You' I hear Beatles influence but it's a potentially good song that's been Wilco'd. 'Poor Places' is a good example of a song that starts well but goes off the rails. 'Experimental' indie is a genre fraught with risk and this proves why. It might be very accomplished instrumentally but it's dull and at times, annoying.
Awful moaning album
I fear the 45 year old white men who can’t shut up about Wilco are onto something
1. Now I know how people who don't like Thom Yorke's voice feel. 2. The mixing and sound design. Too mushy and, and peppered with various types of noises that don't add anything except signal "we are a cool indie band". 3. The tempo. Most songs are a bit too slow and have a slight tempo drag that makes the music feel drag itself along to nowhere. I think the band tried to grasp farther than their reach with this album. The vocalist can't carry the tunes, the songs can't carry the ambition, and the sound design are shots in the dark to be edgy.
Har uppfattat dom som ett hypat indieband men har aldrig lyssnat. Bra produktion, flera bra låtar. Blev inspirerad av ackordföljder och instrument. Kommer lyssna på dom igen. Känns som en 4a.
I’m really on the fence about this album, because it would easily be 4 stars. However, it had some really annoying screeching sounds that it used as transitions, and it also just didn’t feel good enough for a 4. It didn’t have any excitement, and it was really stagnant. High 3.
This was an interesting album. It was a combination of this sort of standard indie rock songs with this really trippy electronic stuff mixed in. Each part on its own would have been a 3, but together I think this album deserves a 4. A low 4, maybe, but a 4. It reminded me ever so slightly of Tunng, which is one of my favorite bands. Favorite Tracks: Jesus, Etc.
Fine, I guess, but boring. 2.5 rounded down.
Inoffensive, but a bit bland.
Stolid
Fine/moderately enjoyable
Incredibly boring and bland.
great! surprised i hadn't listened to this point
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart - 2.5/5 Kamera - 3.5/5 Radio Cure - 4/5 War on War - 3/5 Jesus, Etc. - 3/5 Ashes of American Flags - 4/5 Heavy Metal Drummer - 4.5/5 I'm the Man Who Loves You - 3/5 Pot Kettle Black - 3.5/5 Poor Places - 4/5 Reservations - 3/5
Wilco always makes me feel nostalgic for chicago. Album was good, if a little boring, was very easy and pleasant listening. Favorite song: Jesus, etc.
Practically renders all Wilco albums after it meaningless (although I’ve come o enjoy the narcotic hangover that is Ghost). I love it. A ramshackle singular piece, fraying at the edges, threatening to topple from its axis.
Okay I actually really enjoyed this! Morning coffee listening to Jesus, Etc and watching the world around me was a moment
My guess is musicians will appreciate what is going on here. But, they lost me at the whistle.
4⭐️/5 02.27.2026
As a 41 year old Dad who likes indie rock, I think this is supposed to be one of my favourite albums of all time but I couldn’t really get into it. Some of the songs kind of reminded me of a more refined “pavement” but most of it just seems a little dull.
3.2 I thought I liked this more than I did. Missing a bit of an edge from the earlier Wilco and definitely Uncle Tupelo albums
This allowed me to see a bit more of why people love this group. I enjoyed it, albeit quite boring and "rounded out". Like dull paint. I get it but it didn't excite me. I have a few thoughts juggling around my big dumb head. First and foremost, there is FAR too much Wilco on this list. Maybe its a balanced amount to show how indie alt music changed from '91-'01. Secondly, why is this band so revered? Probably nostalgia bait for Gen Xers chasing the high of their first concert or festival or first joint. Its just blase buttered noodle music. And last but not least, I HATED the first wilco album on the list but really enjoyed the Billy Bragg one. Not for nothing, that coachella country sound i despised is actually what they do best. The irony of my personal tastes compiled with some enjoayble melodies on this album allow me to comfortably give it a 3 stars.
Always meant to but never got around to really listening to Wilco. I’ll be listening to more for sure.
It's very boring and pretentious.
mellow and sad
Wilco never seems to grab me. They have the makings of a band I should love. Most of my favorite bands are from the early 2000s, incorporate cool little guitar frills, have a smooth guitar presence, and a singer who stands out but isn't a show off. Wilco fits all of this for me but they have never been a band where I remembered they existed once it was done. I have yet to find any Wilco songs that inspire me or get stuck in my head and I need to hear again. That's being said I didn't hate this and didn't wanna skip any of the songs. I just think they are a background band and this album was no different. Lyrically they hit the low hanging fruit almost every time. It's so predictable.
I can't say it's bad, and it's definitely lovely and/or interesting at times. But it's so boring!
It is good but a little bit boring
Atmospheric, moody, melancholic. Loved the bibes but got a little weird near the end
Dire
Awesome album. One of my all time favorites. Every song is great. It’s crazy because this isn’t even my favorite Wilco album, but it’s a close second or third from an excellent band. I hope A Ghost Is Born is on this list because it’s an even better album.
ni lo pude terminar fr
Defintely a downer Talented but makes me down
Medio aburrido la verdad
Lustigerweise erst am Wochenende gehört. Mag ich gern!
Was war das? Also außer mega cool?!
Damn listened to it very high while drawing a horse and it was a great experience.
Thoughts before listening: One if my favorite bands with their most celebrated album. Not my favorite from them though. I mean it's full of classic songs for sure, I just prefer some of the other records. Review: Okay fine....this is a masterpiece. Even if I prefer Being There or Sky Blue Sky or one of the other 00s era albums, I understand why this is so celebrated. They take the alt country framework and flip it on its head, adding in plenty of avant garde flourishes throughout. Always an interesting album full of classic songs, I'll give this 5-stars.
I missed the bandwagon with Wilco and only got into them much later after listening to a Jeff Tweedy solo recording. This is an exceptional album, strong musicianship from start to finish. 4 Stars. Fave track - Jesus don’t cry.
It's a good album but it kind of just melts into the background.
There were spme great bits and other tracks where i'm wondering if this is the same band. It's a bit inconsistent
Not my thing, but I understand how someone else might appreciate it. It´s very laid back when it comes to melody and composition, with the exception of a few "weird" noises and synthesizers here and there. Not an amazing vocal perfomance but it´s alright, as I said, it´s just not my thing.
Has this much fuss ever been made about such nothing music? The aural equivalent of a blank expression.
Good vibes overall. Nice sound. Not much did it for me in particular.
This is an all-timer for me. At a time when I only wanted to listen to the most obnoxious indie and experimental tracks or most obscure punk bands, this album and "A Ghost Is Born" both managed to pull me in. Honestly, it's what got me to start listening to folksier artists, so I credit it for getting to be less of a pretentious teenager, ha. It's not even that folksy of an album, Wilco's got other ones for that. Regardless, I adore this album. Not a bad track on it. If pushed, I guess I'd say "War on War" is kind of mid. Otherwise, this is pretty much a perfect album for me. I might even consider it a desert island album, in all honestly. Love Wilco. Their early 2000s output was titanic.
Not trying to get all depressed Tweedy
Open and opaque. Imagistic lyrics about heartbreak and love, nervousness and bad habits, nostalgia but undercut and unsettled, all delivered directly and earnestly. Simple songs deconstructed, restructured and rearranged.
I hate that this list has made me realize I’m the type of white person who loves Wilco. You either die young or live long enough to discover you love Wilco.
Very soothing music. Not in a chill, lo-fi way. I got 90s britpop vibes from this album, that kind of down to earth “people first” music. Favorited a few songs from this.
Not bad but just monotonous. Nothing special.
Another album that falls in the bucket of similar sounding boring, passive, energy draining navel gazing. Sorry Wilco, if I hadn't listened to what feels like 40 hours of this type of stuff in the past two weeks you might have gotten a more positive review.
Eh.
Enjoyed it more than I expected.
going in totally blind, I don't even know what genre this is definitely more my thing than Black Sabbath or Norah Jones lol
This is what Auture indie rock aspires to be. Very much the idiosyncratic voice of the creator. Strange and experimental at times. But executed so masterfully that it is also completely accessible.
Dishwater
I am trying to break your heart - 4 Kamera - 5 Radio cure - 4 War on war - 4 Jesus, etc. - 5 Ashes of american flags - 3 Heavy metal drummer - 5 I'm the man who loves you - 4 Pot kettle black - 4 Poor places - 3 Reservations - 3
This is the second Wilco album in as many weeks. This one is better than the last and has some good tracks. It’s enjoyable. It suffers from the same problem as the other though - there’s a fair amount of mediocre stuff that obscures the good.
Having listened to this album, particularly Jesus, Etc quite a few times, I approached with apprehension. Some albums that I once thought I was a big fan of have cropped up on this list, only for me to find that the sheen has worn off. Fortunately for me, YHF was the opposite. Beautiful instrumentation and lyrics drive this peaceful modern classic. RYM: Y (#257) Saved a song: Y
A wonderful blend of noise, country, and rock heralding as the Advent of streaming and online music, this record is monumental and filled to the brim with great layering. 10/10
- i love how its quite unique - i am major fan of lyricism in this album - i very much like the instrumentals in all tracks - the man who loves u is proy my fav track
I liked some of the songs but it was largely boring
I have seen this album cover before. I’ve never heard a song of theirs and I’ve never heard of the band either. I am trying to break your heart: 6.5/10 I like this guys voice. Good song. It’s like a rocky type song but it has so many extra instruments on it. Very original sounding. The ending is a mess. Kamera: 5/10 Not very interesting. Radio Cure: 5.5/10 Im starting to think this band are trying to be Radiohead. War on War: 5/10 Sounds like a Fleetwood Mac song from the start. Hate that opening vocal style. These guys are trying to do too many things at once and aren’t doing any of them particularly well. Jesus Etc.: 4/10 Fairly boring. Stupid song. Ashes of American Flags: 5/10 Unoriginal, not catchy. Heavy Metal Drummer: 5.5/10 Lyrics are just dumb. Song isn’t that bad otherwise. Im the man who loves you: 5/10 The guitar in the intro is tragic. I think hes trying to play like Neil young but this guy just sucks. Pot Kettle Black: 6.5/10 Not bad. Probably the best song of the album. Poor Places: 5.5/10 Not too bad. Reservations: 6/10 Long outro.
What're your thoughts on Pavement? Good? You'll find lots to like here. Negative? Well, there still might be something for you here. I mean, this is a good, complete album, but it's so stripped down in that 2001 kind of way that it's not really interesting 25 years later unless you're in Just The Right Mood.
Wowowow this was fab
Radiohead from Temu dot com
Somewhat experimental and progressive folk that has a niche following. Not for me, but respect the sound and emotion
I don't know how to accurately describe the sound of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. The album is quite interesting while at the same time, quite boring. The soft-spoken lead singer's voice is monotone and, at times, whiny. I appreciated the distorted, industrial sounds and experimental aspects of the album, but I didn't particularly like any of the songs as a whole. I'll re-listen to this album at some point in the future, and maybe then I'll feel more confident in giving it a rating. For now, 3/5
Weird to think they were making this music when I was in diapers
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart - 4/5 Kamera - 3.5/5 Radio Cure - 3.5/5 War on War - 3/5 Jesus, etc. - 3.5/5 Ashes of American Flags - 4/5 Heavy Metal Drummer - 4/5 I'm the Man Who Loves You - 3.5/5 Pot Kettle Black - 4.5/5 Poor Places - 3.5/5 Reservations - 3/5 It's a fairly simple sad guy album that has a a slight lack of polish that makes it more endearing. There were points like on Pot Kettle Black where I could feel like they were doing something great, and then there were times when it sunk back down into generic folk rock or Americana. Overall: 3.5/5 Favorites: I Am Trying to Break Your Heart, Ashes of American Flags, Pot Kettle Black
*Some interesting tracks, some sounded Beatles-esque *At times gets too dull for a higher rating
So much of this album-rating experiment is tied to whether a particular album hits you on a day you are open to receiving it.
Listening to that album invoked less emotion than watching someone removing their belly button fluff.
8/10
TWEEEEEDY
Instrumentally this album is brilliantly accomplished, and ticks so many of the boxes that make up an interesting, coherent album. The production is also strong, and the album really peaks in the middle section with a few stand out tracks. What lets it down slightly is the fact that it flows very much on a similar tone throughout and lacks variety. This doesn’t make it a bad listen, but it leaves you wanting a little more - or at least another standout track - by the end of the 51 minute run.
free domain music lecąca w kawiarni XD
Pretty boring and forgettable
Boring…..
мне интересно, на основе чего складывалась книга о 1001 альбоме
A slightly maudlin take on the recent folk revival trend. Bluegrass instruments mixed with rock, found sound and electronica. Not very interesting
Beautiful album, great production. 9/10 Favourite track: Jesus, Etc.
..
I liked this more than I expected. When I looked the album up on Wikipedia it was described as “art rock” and I was like “ugh”. But by the end of the first track I was into it. Each song was different and I found the album interesting.
feel like I would have appreciated it more if I listened to it about ten years earlier. I missed the train. Jesus, etc. is a great track though!
I liked it! Didn't love his voice all the time, and it had some cacophony endings that I dislike most of the time. That said, I had already had one song on this album saved in my liked songs on Spotify, so I think that's saying something.
Lost the wilco to live
I had higher hopes for this knowing it's so highly regarded. It's fine? Nothing "bad" but I just don't feel anything for a lot of it. Low/mid 3?
Liked it. Nice mixture of downbeat and upbeat tracks. Would listen again.
boring, nothing special abt it
Decent background music with some interesting compositions. Standout song for me was Radio Cure. 2.75 stars for the whole album, though.
Liked some of the instrumentation of several tracks. Some of the lyrics were interesting. Hated the voice. ⭐⭐
Boring and generally unpleasant on the ears. Hopefully my eye will stop twitching soon if I listen to someone else who can actually sing.
Needs Billy Bragg.
Utterly unremarkable
There is so much to say about this album, but 100% agree you should listen to it before you die. The story behind the album (which you can see in a documentary) is wild, with the band being dropped from their label (a subsidiary of Warner Music) but given the rights to the album for free, subsequently streaming the album on their website (what an idea for 2001), to releasing the album on a different subsidiary of Warner music. I haven’t seen the documentary in years, but as I remember this album was basically their make or break record, and they still had the courage to pursue a wildly experimental approach. It pays off in the rich details and atmosphere on every song. It is hauntingly beautiful throughout, and wildly prescient considering it was recorded just prior to Sept 11, 2001 (which was the original intended release date). Overall just a phenomenal record, with depth that rewards repeated listens, dense instrumentation, but approachable songs and melodies.
idk about this one lowkey too old for my taste (maybe not indie enough?) still a good album just not enough to drink matcha too and pretend to read women literature too
3.5/5
its alright. nothing special for my ears. more background music than anything else. singer's voice is meh, instrumentals are basic. its fine. 5/10
Good and I can see how they have influenced other musicians afterwards, love the synths. That being said, I feel like it didn’t really have any standouts.
pretty boring album. nothing really stood out.
Meh. Dreary Alt rock.
very good
love love love
Yesss
Overhyped and dull
9/11 lol
whiny vocals and some songs had bad instrumentals
Love everything about this
I dont have much tk say
its okay but abit too boring for me
There's some great stuff in here, but it sounds somehow forced at times. Still, a few tracks I'll enjoy revisiting.
I think I would appreciate this more if I listen to it more than once. But I do not want to listen to it more than once in one day.
I may be the odd man out with this album, but there are some really great tracks here. Also, to be fair, it was one of our in the car CDs from 2008-2010 soI know this album really well.
Nice enough album
Their most pleasant offering to me yet.
Tiene momentos interesantes, pero la experimentación no termina de cuadrar conmigo.
Tällainen 2000-luvun indierock ei taida ihan olla mun juttu, vaikka ei tämä todellakaan huono ollut. En vain kauheasti innostu tämän tyylisestä musasta.
i like the album cover! don't really care for the album itself though. certainly not bad just don't care
Hard for me to review this one objectively, as it feels like my 20s are bound up in this album's sounds. I didn't get Wilco until I moved to the Midwest, which happened a month before this album came out. I still love it, still love this band. I think I've come to appreciate some of their later albums even more than this one, but YHF is where it all starts for me.
A solid 3. Voice reminds me a bit of Garcia.
I thought this was decent album. Instruments were good and vocals ok, but the lyrics made little sense at times.
I wasn’t blown away
Apple Music described this album as the point where the band became the Rust Belt Radiohead. I wholeheartedly agree. Unfortunately for Wilco, I hate Radiohead with a passion. I hated this album too. It's long, Tweedy's voice is uber boring and whiny, and the album is entirely unremarkable and boring the whole time. If you're a hipster you probably love this.
nah. too much angsty vocals, discordant sounds.
No me esperaba que me gustara tanto porque me recuerda a un ex nefastillo y medio insoportable
Dull, dull, dull, but listenable. I liked the space-y noises and musicality, but none of the songs were distinguishable from one another.
A bit boring on first listen.
A wonderful album that I need to be in the right mood to really enjoy. I was in that mood last night, so I enjoyed everything except the 60's psychedelia of "I'm the Man Who Loves You". Some very experimental sounds that actually work well.
Sorry friends who worship this album. I have it two listens and still they only two songs I remember were War on War and Jesus Etc which were both fine. It's perfectly nice but... I didn't find it all that interesting or.memorsble.
another band i didn’t know, another album i really enjoyed
Honestly, I can't get over the band being called wilco, it's a terrible name. I always thought it was the name of one of those awful 70s bands like smokie. Gah. Turns out it's not, so I've been avoiding them for the wrong reasons. It does also just remind me of the discount hardware shop we used to have. I think that shop was more interesting though. It was pretty ploddy, there were some alright atmospheric elements. I dunno, it just didn't capture me really. It was just on. Then it finished. It wasn't bad, but meh. A low 3.
3 stars
Great album. So many fantastic songs that they build and destroy. It's almost like they didn't want this played on the radio. Brings me right back to college. This album is a mood.
Boring. Long songs. I knew Jesus, Etc.
Loved this album!
had already heard before this and its so good
199/1089 it’s giving Sufjan Stevens vibes and i’m enjoying it. The soft rock, melancholy vibe is quite appealing to me. it could have some higher highs for sure but it still has a nice flow. faves: Heavy metal drummer, I am trying to break your heart, Radio cure, War on war, Pot kettle black 75/100
I’m not sure the moody, experimental Wilco is my favorite Wilco. But I’m also not sure it isn’t my favorite Wilco. Hmm.
Melancholic and a bit boring
Okay i actually didn't mind this album, it does sound like country folk electronic molded together.
Amazing album. Every song is great. It's amazing how they mix the folksy almost-country rock with various electronic sounds (sometimes with too much feedback) and symphonic sounds. And the melodies!
I always imagine this album as a sunny, strumming piece of pop Americana that was recorded next to a room where a darker, weirder art rock band was playing... and sometimes those two albums can't help but bleed into each other.
Nothing about this album changed for me upon re-listening to the whole thing: I still really love many of the songs - the amazing opener, Ashes of American Flags, Poor Places - but several others still border into cheesy cringe for me in a way that also hasn't changed (Kamera, Heavy Metal Drummer.) It's mostly a solid, coherent listen but for those two clunkers which keep this from tipping it into unfettered amazingness.
I need to give this more listens. Wilco has never been a fave, but too many great people love them to ignore, especially this album.
I expected a straight Americana record, but 𝘠𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘭 𝘍𝘰𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘵 turns out to be something far stranger and more experimental. Wilco dissolve their usual songwriting into layers of static, warped guitars, and fragmented arrangements that constantly feel like they’re breaking apart and reforming in real time. Beneath all that noise sits a warm, wounded heart — Jeff Tweedy’s melodies still shine through, just in a more abstract, ghostly way. It’s a challenging listen at first, but a rewarding one, full of subtle beauty hiding behind the distortion.
Timeless perfect 10
A lot of 3s lately, but they've just been middle of the road on first listen. I've listened to this one back in the day, but Wilco just never clicked for me. One of the best album covers though. 3/5.
Wow this is an album lovers album. Lots going on here, but at the same time it plays casual and easy to jive with. This is sophistocated music. Very earnest. 8/10
This was great. Bit bright eyes-y. The last half of the album really made it for me.
Never play anything by them before. Really enjoyed it. Reminds me of the grateful dead. Will play again.
Was Alright. Understated, Beta Band ish. Required a 2nd listen. 'Im The Man who Loves You' onwards stood out. Ive listened to em before Couldnt remember much about em. Like you forgot youd made Eggs, went for a poo and you have to eat em cold
Feel like I’ve listened to every band around these but this one has passed me by. I enjoyed it, Jesus Etc I did recognise and that was the standout for me. Getting The Shins and Yo La Tengo similarities. Could easily be a 4 on repeat listens. You know what fuck it, it’s having a 4!