Wilco – Cousin (2023) [FLAC 24bit/96kHz]

Wilco – Cousin (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 42:54 minutes | 941 MB | Genre: Indie Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Legacy Recordings

Wilco’s thirteenth studio album, Cousin, was recorded in the band’s legendary Chicago studio – The Loft – over a period of two years/ The ten new tracks are written by band leader Jeff Tweedy, and feature musical performances by the long time lineup of Nels Cline, Mikael Jorgensen, Glenn Kotche, John Stirratt, Pat Sansone and, of course, Tweedy on lead vocals.

After a short detour back into their country influenced roots via last year’s Cruel Country double album, Cousin sees Wilco back in their more familiar progressive and experimental rock territory. Tweedy’s singular songwriting voice is in full evidence, with lyrics weaving across a variety of topics – from the iconoclastic to the introspective.

Adding a unique and new element to the recording process was the attachment of Welsh singer/songwriter Cate Le Bon to the project as producer – the first time an outsider has been actively involved in a Wilco recording session for over ten years. Le Bon brought her unique musical perspective to the band’s trademark sound and provided them with an inspiring new challenge to push their musical boundaries.See Wilco live these days and you’ll hear dependable hits recorded earlier this century on A Ghost is Born and Sky Blue Sky. In recent years, despite leading the most consummate incarnation of his band, Jeff Tweedy has turned evermore inward in his songwriting. As he’s perfected his simplistic wordwockery, his grip on melody has loosened; more songs have been forgettable. The band’s last album, 2022’s Cruel Country, was not the turn towards the band’s post-Uncle Tupelo beginnings that some fans yearned for, but another batch of turbid Tweedy ruminations. To be fair, few artists have been as fearless in exposing their inner monologues. Opening track “Infinite Surprise” refers to adaptation as life’s necessary skill: “If you were only you/ If I were only me/ If you were only you/ What would I be.” In “Levee” Tweedy is unnerved by confusion, “I love to take my meds/ Like my doctor said/ But I worry/ If I shouldn’t instead.” But in the magisterial horn-like synths of “Infinite Surprise,” it’s also clear that this sharp-eyed collection, which the band has worked on since 2019, has re-focused Tweedy’s considerable creativity on accessible chords supported by quiet, thoughtful vocal takes. With “Levee” and “Evicted” as the most obvious examples, likable melodic turns and fleshy choruses have returned.

To jog wrinkles, Cate Le Bon was brought on as producer. She’s called them “mercurial,” while Tweedy offers, “Cate is very suspicious of sentiment, but she’s not suspicious of human connection.” While both are true, and Le Bon’s contributions on synthesizer, bass, piano and backing vocals add density to a track like “Pittsburgh,” this is a creative force beyond any producer’s magic touch. Recorded in the band’s fabled Loft recording hall, tunes like “A Bowl and a Pudding,” paced by undulating acoustic guitars, have a rich resonant sound. Now in his mid-50s, Tweedy surveys his career. “I’m a flag where the wind won’t blow,” he lets on in “Pittsburgh.” “Strange as that seems/ I’ve outlived my dreams.” Rhythms bob in the brilliant, George Harrison-like “Soldier Child” where he sings, “I fought like a child/ Soldier/ Fights to forget what it’s like/ To be home.” And in the galloping final track, “Meant To Be,” hope breaks through torment and Wilco finds that love is once again the answer. – Robert Baird

Tracklist:

1-1. Wilco – Infinite Surprise (05:43)
1-2. Wilco – Ten Dead (03:55)
1-3. Wilco – Levee (04:11)
1-4. Wilco – Evicted (03:29)
1-5. Wilco – Sunlight Ends (03:53)
1-6. Wilco – A Bowl and A Pudding (04:03)
1-7. Wilco – Cousin (04:10)
1-8. Wilco – Pittsburgh (05:13)
1-9. Wilco – Soldier Child (04:17)
1-10. Wilco – Meant To Be (03:55)

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