I'm thoroughly convinced that album release dates will soon be a thing of the past. People have dabbled in surprise releases before, with Radiohead doing it in 2007 with their critically acclaimed album In Rainbows; in actuality, the band announced the album ten days before it was actually released, but it was still a pretty big surprise to most of the band's fans.
Probably most well-known is the surprise release of Beyonce's self-titled album at the end of 2013, a move which caused the album to move nearly a million units in just a few days, making it one of the fastest-selling albums in music history. Even after her Super Bowl performance earlier that year, I don't think there were really any clues that she was even making an album.
Since then, many artists have been making surprise releases. In February, Drake did a surprise album/mixtape that went gold in just a few days. Back in March, Kendrick Lamar's epic album To Pimp A Butterfly was released a week ahead of its official release before being quickly pulled off iTunes. Odd Future members Tyler The Creator and Earl Sweatshirt also shunned official release dates for their albums, opting to just release their albums when they felt they were ready.
Now, Wilco has joined the growing trend of artists who want to surprise their fans. Unlike Beyonce, I think that at least a few people outside of the Wilco camp knew that Wilco was recording a new album, as this list by Stereogum from 2013 suggests. While Beyonce opted to make her album for sale exclusively on iTunes, Wilco decided to release it directly to the fans for free on their website.
On this album, Wilco continues to go down the path of making experimental-yet-accessible indie rock rather than the nostalgic alt-country of their early days. As usual, the experimenting works beautifully. The first track is the shortest and most experimental track on here, but doesn't really give any idea as to how the rest of the album will sound.
Look at a track like "Random Name Generator". Sure, it's still a little weird musically, but it's also fuzzed-out and it also rocks. It has a catchy rock riff that gets stuck in your head and could potentially be lead single material. The track "The Joke Explained" sounds like Tweedy doing Dylan over these fuzzy rock riffs.
Then, there are tracks like "You Satellite" that aren't as easy as the previously mentioned tracks. However, it also proves that a song can sound pretty while still being adventurous. The song barely features a set drum beat, with drummer Glenn Kotche keeping time with a steady, yet unusual beat. It's actually the most out-of place song on the album in that it's by far the longest song on here, and that it's not as straightforward as the other tracks (not that any of them are really straightforward at all).
Aside from the opener, the shortest track on this album is "Pickled Ginger", which features an ongoing fuzz-bass riff throughout. Believe it or not, it's actually one of the more simple songs on here, with even the drums being not quite as unusual as Wilco fans are used to. It's probably because of this that it's a standout track to me, because it comes and goes and hits hard.
I've noticed throughout the listening to this album that the only thing that most of these songs have in common are that they're short. The songs themselves all sound different, whether they employ a different drum beat, or a slightly different guitar sound; whatever it is that the band does in the studio to differentiate their songs, they do it well, because no song on the album sounds anything like the one that comes before or after it, and I think it's really cool that a band is able to do that.
Conclusion: Wilco releases one of their shorter and more accessible albums without compromising song quality.
Overall: 8/10
Favorite Songs: Random Name Generator; You Satellite; Taste the Ceiling; Pickled Ginger; King Of You; Magnetized
Since then, many artists have been making surprise releases. In February, Drake did a surprise album/mixtape that went gold in just a few days. Back in March, Kendrick Lamar's epic album To Pimp A Butterfly was released a week ahead of its official release before being quickly pulled off iTunes. Odd Future members Tyler The Creator and Earl Sweatshirt also shunned official release dates for their albums, opting to just release their albums when they felt they were ready.
Now, Wilco has joined the growing trend of artists who want to surprise their fans. Unlike Beyonce, I think that at least a few people outside of the Wilco camp knew that Wilco was recording a new album, as this list by Stereogum from 2013 suggests. While Beyonce opted to make her album for sale exclusively on iTunes, Wilco decided to release it directly to the fans for free on their website.
On this album, Wilco continues to go down the path of making experimental-yet-accessible indie rock rather than the nostalgic alt-country of their early days. As usual, the experimenting works beautifully. The first track is the shortest and most experimental track on here, but doesn't really give any idea as to how the rest of the album will sound.
Look at a track like "Random Name Generator". Sure, it's still a little weird musically, but it's also fuzzed-out and it also rocks. It has a catchy rock riff that gets stuck in your head and could potentially be lead single material. The track "The Joke Explained" sounds like Tweedy doing Dylan over these fuzzy rock riffs.
Then, there are tracks like "You Satellite" that aren't as easy as the previously mentioned tracks. However, it also proves that a song can sound pretty while still being adventurous. The song barely features a set drum beat, with drummer Glenn Kotche keeping time with a steady, yet unusual beat. It's actually the most out-of place song on the album in that it's by far the longest song on here, and that it's not as straightforward as the other tracks (not that any of them are really straightforward at all).
Aside from the opener, the shortest track on this album is "Pickled Ginger", which features an ongoing fuzz-bass riff throughout. Believe it or not, it's actually one of the more simple songs on here, with even the drums being not quite as unusual as Wilco fans are used to. It's probably because of this that it's a standout track to me, because it comes and goes and hits hard.
I've noticed throughout the listening to this album that the only thing that most of these songs have in common are that they're short. The songs themselves all sound different, whether they employ a different drum beat, or a slightly different guitar sound; whatever it is that the band does in the studio to differentiate their songs, they do it well, because no song on the album sounds anything like the one that comes before or after it, and I think it's really cool that a band is able to do that.
Conclusion: Wilco releases one of their shorter and more accessible albums without compromising song quality.
Overall: 8/10
Favorite Songs: Random Name Generator; You Satellite; Taste the Ceiling; Pickled Ginger; King Of You; Magnetized