Wilco
Star Wars

THE REVIEW

Surprise!

The new Wilco album titled “Star Wars” is released surprisingly and somewhat quietly compared to previous releases in July 2015. The album is offered as a free download on the band's official website for 30 days after its release.

Avoiding the hype from official announcements and considered by Tweedy and Co. as a “gift” and a “burst of joy”, the ninth musical effort from the Chicago formation captures their more relaxed and playful soul. Wilco seems to have fun recording an album that, at least formally, doesn't have many pretensions.

The 34 minutes of “Star Wars” represent their shortest long-playing effort. Call it a divertissement if you like, but that could be reductive for what is nevertheless a good work. After all, we’re still talking about Wilco.

“Star Wars” is the sum of the musical evolution undertaken over the course of a 20-year career and a tribute to the musical influences that have marked the band's journey. Inside, you’ll find the noise-rock of the short intro “EKG,” the Beatles-Lennon-like references of “More,” the kraut-like pace of “You Satellite,” the stoner riff of “Pickled Ginger,” the alt-country in “King of You” (which recalls “I'm The Man Who Loves You”), and the ballad Summerteeth-oriented “Where Do I Begin.”

Simple but never flat, fresh and enjoyable, atypically summery and (alternatively) springlike, halfway between the side-project Loose Fur and the solo debut “Sukierae” under the name Tweedy.

The ninth episode of the Wilco saga, though a minor episode, is certainly not the misstep that one might expect in an impeccable discography where the masterpiece “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” stands out.

“Wilco will love you”