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In the age of the surprise album, sometimes a little hype is nice.
In the days before the release of their tenth studio album, celebrated indie rock ensemble Wilco held nationwide “I Heard Schmilco” events. Record stores across the country — including local favorite Landlocked Music — held listening parties and events to celebrate the release of “Schmilco” last Friday.
A deviation from the band’s previous record of classic avant-art tricks, Wilco’s newest release is a subtle testament to singer Jeff Tweedy’s knack for the user-friendly. The tunes from “Schmilco” fall more in to their widely-satisfying brand of soft acoustic pop rather than experimental noise. “Schmilco” plays more like the 2007 release “Sky Blue Sky” than last year’s screwy release, “Star Wars.”
Tweedy’s quiet lyrics and soft-spoken vocals hold a sense of anxious nostalgia. On the opener “Normal American Kids,” Tweedy fights with the isolation of being a young and awkward stoner. His country roots shine in the folk-tinged tracks “If I Ever Was a Child” and “Quarters.”
Other album standouts include the simple and efficient “Cry All Day” and the twangy peak “Someone to Lose.”
The wispy melodies and understated appeal of the songs steered the group in a more intimate direction. The gentle acoustic melodies make you want to smile, but Tweedy’s bitter lyrics give a sense of displacement.
On the anti-anthem “We Aren’t the World,” he sings, “I know a good Armageddon might have made my day, that day.”
The only living remnants of their past as avant masters are the fuzzy and jangling “Common Sense” and “Locator.” But even those tracks feel tamed by the quaint wistfulness of their counterparts.
The sunny grooves and lush arrangements make “Schmilco” the perfect end-of-summer, winding-down album.
Nothing about it is going to jump out and strike you, but that’s what makes it so gratifying. It’s direct and consistent in its sparseness. It’s something that sounds so familiar and appealing that you can’t help but settle in.
While it may not have matched up with the indie scene’s excitement over its release, “Schmilco” is satisfying in a full and simple way.
