It’s not your typical “country” album.
“I love my country like a little boy. Red, white and blue. I love my country stupid and cruel,” frontman Jeff Tweedy sings on the title track of Cruel Country, Wilco’s new album out Friday.
There aren’t a lot more lyrics to the song and those words resonate in a week that experienced another horrific school shooting — this one in Texas killing 19 children — further dividing an already politically polarized country.
Of course, Tweedy couldn’t fathom such an awful event that would occur just before releasing his strongest offering in almost two decades. Yet Cruel Country reflects on the broader discourse in America.
“There is no middle when the other side would rather kill than compromise,” Tweedy sings on Hints.
Twenty-one songs, and more than an hour 17 minutes, Cruel Country has plenty to like, though I expect it will have its detractors with so many tracks to dissect. I find the whole album excellent and I’m a longtime fan, having followed Tweedy from Uncle Tupelo to the very beginning of Wilco and through the band’s three decades.
When the album was announced, the band goofed around with its messaging about releasing an album that embraced country music.
What Cruel Country delivers is a lot of contemplative songs, some twang and plenty of classic Wilco sound that falls somewhere between roots and pop.
All the Young Punks 