WILCO (the album) nonesuch five stars Any time a band releases an eponymous album, they are not only gambling the reputation of the album itself, but of their entire catalogue to date; they are saying, "this is our definitive work." With their newest, self-titled album, alt-country superstars Wilco have taken that risk a step further with their opening track, "Wilco (The Song)."
From there, they quickly cover a vast musical landscape. "Deeper Down" mines Wilco's country roots with twangy guitar chords interspersed with soulful vocals, while "Solitaire" is reminiscent of their slower work on 1999's Summerteeth. "I'll Fight" matches blues lyrics with an oddly up-beat tempo that Johnny Cash would've been proud to have written. "You Never Know" is a piano-driven romp dissecting generational self-interest that seems to uncover significant universal truths nonchalantly-a pretty nifty trick.
A few weeks ago at a party, some unapologetic hipsters-the kind who believe that "irony" qualifies as a lifestyle and required me to list my five favorite books as a prerequisite to conversation-asked me to name my favorite Wilco song.
In any other instance, the fact that people I found so repulsive liked a band as much as I did would have turned me off that band completely. But Wilco exists independent of their own identity; their music is neither reactionary nor contrived; they don't experiment for the sake of experimentation. They could care less if you don't think they're cool (though they are cool enough to care about their fans, especially at concerts). So here, in this moment when these hipsters were trying to negotiate a sort of cultural advantage, Wilco was actually a force of equity.
Jeff Tweedy is an undeniable everyman; instead of the usual rock-star excesses of fast drugs and loose women, he carries his son on his shoulders during encores. Not that he hasn't battled adversity, such as his addiction to pain killers, but when the axiom that musicians must "suffer for their art" becomes stale, you can look to artists like Tweedy for redemption.
On Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Wilco derived poignancy from the melancholic, discovering that sentimentality, wistful or otherwise, never came cheap. With Wilco (The Album), they have realized that while pain is a convenient source of inspiration, the motivated can find it anywhere-even in a beat-up Chevy Nova. When asked, I answered with "Misunderstood" as my favorite Wilco song and then amended that to "Wishful Thinking." Now, I would say Wilco's closing track, "Everlasting Everything."
Does that indicate anything? Would it be a bold statement to say that, even with the likes of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Being There and A Ghost is Born behind them, Wilco is better than ever? -Alex Fankuchen
REGINA SPEKTOR far sire records four stars Regina Spektor is an oddity, and that's why we love her. Her last record, Begin to Hope-including the infectious mainstream hit "Fidelity"-put her on the radar as one of the most charming musician/songwriters today. And anticipation has been high for its successor, Far, her fifth studio album.
On the new record, Spektor's quirk is more polished. After working with four big-name producers, the songs are glossier but her signature spunk is not dampened. Rather, the music has comfortably matured without feeling awkward.
First single "Laughing With" perfectly encapsulates this added depth. Spektor explores the role God plays in our daily lives in a fantastical but grounded way.
Straying from songs that are purely silly (e.g., "That Time," which is great, for the record), this track showcases her ability to infuse the lighthearted with a deeper, more personal token of truth.
Her earnest storytelling, also highlighted in "Blue Lips" and "Two Birds," is at its finest in "Man of a Thousand Faces." Lyrics like, "He's found a path to her likeness/He eats a small lump of sugar/Smiles at the moon like he knows her" are set to an unfettered piano melody that fully underscores the songwriting.
Though many of the songs on Far tend to be slower, Spektor compensates with some upbeat gems. A good example of this style is the summer-kissed "Folding Chair," one of the strongest tracks on the album. It is full of surprising embellishments-Spektor imitates a dolphin at one point-and reminds us of just how charming she can be.
"Dance Anthem of the 80s" is most reminiscent of the Spektor of old, heavily sprinkled with her flirtatious and funky vocal ornamentations.
Overall, Far is more accessible than previous records, but the strong tracks shine brighter than ever before, giving fans old and new a needed fill of the Spekt-acular. - Jessie Tang
MOBY wait for me mute two stars When Eminem famously dissed Moby on "Without Me," the rapper explained the folly of pop stars taking potshots at one another: pop success is fleeting, and at this point a new Moby record just seems to fit the volatile landscape of popular music better than Eminem.
In 1999, Play became Moby's surprisingly likeable breakthrough, achieving multi-platinum sales and the dubious accomplishment of having all 18 of its tracks licensed for commercial use. This trivia speaks to the emotional elasticity of Moby's compositions, but his ubiquity in television ads and film scores marked a promising creative shift in the market. After all, Moby displays a musical acumen more impressive than most, drawing from Phillip Glass and Kraftwerk with equal aplomb. Moby's music sees a harmonious coexistence between pop and compositional music-jazz, classical and electronic.
His last two records seemed like a ploy to please record label execs delighted by the unlikely success of Play, and Wait for Me needed to be a statement of creative reinvigoration in order for Moby to reestablish his credibility.
Unfortunately, the first three tracks only inspire ambivalence. "Pale Horses" is generic movie soundtrack fodder. And lead single "Shot in the Back of the Head" manages to be more affecting than most of the purely instrumental material he's released post-Play.
Pulling samples from a now too familiar repertoire of blues and gospel, "Study War" is pleasant enough, but by now cliche to those familiar with Moby's back catalog. "A Seated Night" is his latest track design for advertising-essentially a desultory chorale song placed randomly in the center of the album. It would, however, sound great on the soundtrack for the next Dan Brown film adaptation.
But it's all a shame, since Moby clearly knows his craft well and has talent to spare. And perplexingly, on his latest LPs-including this one-Moby's creative instincts have seemed stifled. - Brian Contratto
PHOENIX wolfgang amadeus phoenix v2 records five stars FHM Magazine once named the Killers The Best Band Not From Britain. If that's true, then Phoenix is The Best American Band Not From America. Over the past decade, the Parisian foursome has not only ditched their native tongue, they've also left behind stereotypes that Europeans can't recreate the American pop sound.
But Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is not just a simple replication of the group's prior success. Instead, the album tackles styles and themes previously unexplored. Whereas earlier releases like United and Alphabetical were delightfully bubbly, and It's Never Been Like That was an attempt at a more guitar-driven sound, Wolfgang is Phoenix's softer, even classical record.
And it's hard not to notice this classical motif. Both the album's name and first single, the meditative "Lisztomania," are references to musicians of not decades, but centuries past. Standouts like "Fences" and "Rome" introduce sweeping sounds more reserved for opera halls than rock clubs.
And through it all, lead singer Thomas Mars mixes the simple and the subtle to create addictive lyrics. In "Lasso," he advises that "forever is a long long time when you lost your way." On "Girlfriend," he proclaims, "the miracles still give fortune tears." These are the signs of an outstanding album. I don't know what Mars is talking about. I just want to.
In Wolfgang, Phoenix has found what most bands yearn for: a fluctuating sound backed by continual success. With each new release, Phoenix makes it more and more clear that Americans are now importing their best pop music. - Jordan Axt
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