Posted yesterday at 12:00 p.m.
Randomly pick a Lucky Luke comic. Go to the last page, to the last box: the famous cowboy, well in the saddle on his horse Jolly Jumper, goes away as the orange sun sets on the lyrics of the song I’m a Poor Lonesome Cowboy.
This image could have been used as a cover for the new album – double – of the group Wilco so much it sticks to the atmosphere which emanates from the 21 songs heard on Cruel Country. This disc is musically a tribute to this dream America, the one where everything had to be built, the one before the States were… united.
Everything is folk and country style saloon : we mainly hear the guitars with dry strings and the notes of a piano, while the percussions are discreet. Synthetic arrangements are minimal, as is overrecording (overdubs).
The music will remind fans of the band of the two volumes of Mermaid Avenue (1998 and 2000) – made in partnership with Billy Bragg – as well as what Uncle Tupelo offered in the early 1990s, a leading alt-country group in which Jeff Tweedy worked.
We especially appreciated and listened to the middle of this – too – generous Cruel Country. Songs Bird Without a Tail, The Universe, Many Worlds and Hearts Hard to Find could have found themselves on A Ghost Is Born (2004) or Sky Blue Sky (2007), two albums to listen to without reserve and which constitute the heart of Wilco’s discography.
Let’s write it: Cruel Country is a pamphlet by Tweedy. He describes an America gone wrong, where the extreme right – religious and political –, pervasive violence and fear of “the other” have taken the place of the spirit of community and solidarity that has made shine the America of yesteryear, where dreams of unity and equality were still possible.
Wilco will be at the MTelus on August 20.
country-folk
Cruel Country
Wilco
dBpm records