wilco- yankee hotel foxtrot
i listened to a few wilco songs years ago and dismissed them as boring, too country, lame, etc. also, molly knight loved them, and i usually hate 80% of what she listens to, so that was that.
i showed interest to get into them as of late (don’t ask why) and i’ve been listening to yankee hotel foxtrot for the past week. yes, i know i’m seven years too late. anyways, it’s quite an interesting album, although i can see why reprise records rejected it and fucked it off. it’s a difficult album to get into. but if you hang out long enough, it will grow on you and you’ll discover a few gems you didn’t know were there.
it starts out with a static-y (yet great) track that’s pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the album: monotone. subtle. boring. distorted. blah.
the music and vocals are not exciting. there’s no UMPH (unless you consider heavy metal drummer tweedy’s “umph”). there are no wild songs that kick you in the ass, however, there is a cure heavy riff on pot kettle black. i can’t enjoy that song properly without hearing the cure’s inbetween days. yet somehow, it works. this whole album works. somehow.
tweedy comes off as a sad, desperate hopeless romantic with a broken heart (or heart breaker?) and nothing to lose. what it lacks in sonic excitement is made up by the beautiful lyrics. upon fifth listen, i can already tell jesus, etc is their “big hit.” and talk about lyrics:
tall buildings shake
voices escape singing sad sad songs
tuned to chords strung down your cheeks
bitter melodies turning your orbit around
take that, reprise.
i imagine taking this album with me if i ever go on a cross-country road trip. it vomits middle americana to me. this album reminds me of all the small towns scattered across america. don’t ask.
yankee hotel foxtrot is warm and fuzzy and it hugs you at night when nothing else will.
highlights:
-jesus, etc.
-ashes of american flags
-i am trying to break your heart
-heavy metal drummer
it’s a very confusing review, i know. sorry about this. 8/10.
