Wilco surprise us!

« Surprise » albums are becoming, in a sense, less and less surprising. This time around it’s the turn of Wilco. On the 17th July, Jeff Tweedy and his band released their new record, entitled Star Wars, which they made available as a free download in MP3 format from their website, until the 13th August. Now that this brief time-window has elapsed, their ninth studio album is available to stream and buy with Qobuz. From our first listen, Star Wars stunned us. This reaction has its route, without doubt, in the stylistic diversity of the record, which could easily have been called Style Wars… 20 years into their musical career, this is certainly not the first stylistic reinvention of the great, storied American rock band from Chicago. Wilco have mastered Americana (most famously on the legendary Yankee Hotel Foxtrot), Psych-Pop, Experimental Rock, and Folk along the way; always deployed with Tweedy’s genuine Midas touch. With Star Wars, the guitar sounds are plunged into the heart of classic 70s album rock – think Lou Reed, Bowie, Captain Beefheart, and Beatles solo careers – as the melodies chime and chug, depending on the song. Sticking with the 70s theme, Psychedelica is taken on (More…), as is Noise Rock (Your Satellite), alongside magnificent Glam Rock, lilting Folk Pop (Taste The Ceiling), and other superb pastiches. Wilco's Star Wars; a great disc of contemporary rock, arriving well versed in rock history. Available to download, with Qobuz, from the 21st August 2015.

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