Volume 10: The Whole Love?

I'm struggling to judge Wilco's new record, The Whole Love, just as I initially struggled with their last two records, Sky Blue Sky and Wilco (The Album). The basic struggle is figuring out if I like the new record less because it is simply not as good, or if the passage of time has changed my perception of Wilco's records. In the end, I think I have two problems with the record: First, the record lacks the dramatic tension that defines the best Wilco records. Second, when the record does attempt to have dramatic tension, the tension feels forced. Additionally, I'm unsure if the record's tension issues stem from it being inauthentic, or if it is just my perception of their (in)authenticity.

So when I decry "Art of Almost" as a poor man's "Misunderstood" or "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart," I wonder if the opening track really is worse, or if I've just grown cynical. The lyrical content is less vivid than "Misunderstood," yet not nearly as tantalizing as the more obtuse "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart." After the song effectively builds tension for the four and a half minutes, the crescendo of guitar really does nothing to resolve the song. Instead, it tends to be kind of boring. The old Wilco would have cut the song at 4:30, I think. "I Might" reminds me of "Wilco (The Song)" and "Kamera," but it isn't as good. The organ has this weird Doorsy feel to it that really distracts me instead of enhancing the song. The guitar is great but it's so spotty that it gets overrun by the organ.



"Born Alone" is the best song on the record, and Tweedy's cadence makes the song feel like the Wilco of old. Best of all is the guitar, chugging along in the verses and then coming alive in the choruses. Still, the track, which probably should have ended after 2:30, goes for another minute and a half of guitar soloing. I feel like the old Wilco would have cut the song at 2:30 and saved the guitar for the live show. Do all Wilco guitar solos kind of sound the same now? They didn't used to.



"Born Alone" is evidence that Wilco still know how to craft a great pop song, but their previous albums were also great because of the contrast between these pop gems and slower, darker songs. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot had some great, great pop songs (Kamera, Heavy Metal Drummer, etc), but they were balanced with the dramatic tension and woundedness of "Ashes of American Flags" and "Poor Places." "Sunloathe" is, in theory, a nice breather, and I've always appreciated the sequencing on Wilco albums, but hearing Tweedy tell us "I don't want to lose this fight / I don't want to end this fight" is utterly unconvincing. If there's even tension there, it feels so contrived that I can't listen to the song.



Luckily, The Whole Love rebounds with "Dawned on Me." "Dawned on Me" is an old man's rocker. Everything feels set in the past, and the chorus is about falling in love with your wife...again (presumably). As in "it dawned on me." Not that there's anything wrong with that. But it's not the strangled love present as recently as on A Ghost is Born. It's not a bad song. In fact, it's a pretty damn good song. But it's not the same Wilco I fell in love with.



And so I sit here with what is an OK record, but a below average one in the Wilco canon. A couple of the aforementioned songs are good to great, but I doubt I'll spend any time with the rest of them. Still, pangs of guilt strike me as I say that, and I wonder if the record is actually that bad, or if it's just me. The ultimate issue I have with The Whole Love is the lack of dramatic tension. And even when the poetry regains the dramatic tension on this record, it feels forced. But why does it feel forced? Is it because the tension is forced, and is inauthentic, or is it because I perceive the tension to be inauthentic and therefore hear it that way? And, depending on the way you answer that query, the larger question becomes: Am I capable of liking a new Wilco record, regardless of the quality of that record?