Wilco... modern roots

Wilco's new album, Wilco (the Album), is a tour-de-force across the board. Nuanced, engaging, and demonstrating both accomplished songwriting and deft musicianship, like all good albums it grows more in scale with each listen. With liberal use of accoustic guitar, piano and drums, it's comtemporary american roots music, sitting with justifiable pride on the same shelf as the rest of the bright new-wave of My Morning Jacket, and the Decemberists, et al.

To my kiwi ear, the similarities to the solo work of Neil Finn and family are striking and obvious, the americans sounding like some kind of post-colonial cousins. But I was also delighted to find flashes of early Bowie (Tweedy's voice), echoes of early Elton John (the mixing, the pacing)... and with the modern country-esque songwriting something like a less florid and more patient, Ryan Adams.

Wilco, however, have been around a long time, since the days of my youth, but have not previously caught my attention. Formerly more a lo-fi, alt.country type setup, they didn't have the hormone fueled vigour or emotional hyperbole my teenage self sought. All grown-up now, I find the new album is a rich and deep production in all respects.

I can't find any higher praise.