Wilco
Sky Blue Sky

One doesn't have to be a keen psychologist to understand that something significant has happened to songwriter Tweedy in the years that separate the unmissable previous "A Ghost Is Born," an introspective album filled with spleen, from "Sky Blue Sky."

The "ghosts" are behind, the atmosphere is certainly more reassuring; a flight of birds replaces the impenetrable egg on the cover. But the fears, the inner conflicts are not swept away. It's just that Jeff has probably learned to live with them, to better accept his own limits. After all, the raptor preparing to swoop down on the flock of thrushes on the magnificent cover photo is a fairly transparent metaphor: it is not known who it will touch, fate is lurking; however, this cannot prevent us from flying, from sharing the journey and destinations with our companions; on the contrary, being part of the group is what can give us the strength to face the toughest challenges.
The music could not help but reflect this change of tone, the altered mood, even though variety continues to be a distinctive feature of the band. There are more glimmers of light, a greater sense of peace, less unsettling electronics even though there are still flashes on the horizon. "Either Way," the first track, is perhaps where this newfound serenity is most felt with a sound that would please, I believe, Robbie Robertson and the late John Lennon. "You Are My Face" seems "just" an excellent country-folk ballad, but at the center is a rock heart with a stretched guitar solo and a sudden change of pace, only to return, circularly, to the initial rural atmospheres.

"Impossible Germany," besides being the longest track on the album, is perhaps the most ambitious one: note the remarkable contribution of the guitars, with Jeff joined by newcomer Nels Cline and Pat Sansone, and an ending that recalls certain jazz-like twists of Karate. "Side With the Seeds" hides, behind the soul-like flow of the first part, an electric soul that peeks through and ends up giving its mark to the song in an almost prog crescendo.
However, the peak of the album, in my opinion, is "Shake It Off": a slow, almost Pink Floyd-like, psychedelic rhythm alternates with another energetic and very metropolitan blues.
The theme of accepting one's own (hyper)sensitivity is found in the delicate "Please Be Patient With Me," a song that could be dedicated to the poor Elliott Smith both for the themes and sounds. It will then be really difficult not to be ensnared by the delicate and precious pop textures of "Leave Me," a song with a bittersweet flavor, almost whispered by our hero. But the key track to understand the turning point, with a more relaxed and positive approach to life by the Chicago songwriter, is probably "What Light," where in a Dylan-esque ballad he manages to express all his newfound confidence ("There's a light (one light) / There's a light (white light) / Inside of you").

"Sky Blue Sky" will unsettle some fans who approached Wilco with the last two darker and more troubled works, but it matters little. The band confirms itself as one of the best realities of American rock between tradition and innovation and Tweedy debunks the cliché that in pain and anguish artists give their best, releasing what is, at least to me, the most convincing album of an already bright career.