Style: Indie rock; compare to My Morning Jacket, Blitzen Trapper, The Band
Top tracks: “Art of Almost,” “Capitol City,” “One Sunday Morning”
The Whole Love retrospectively makes sense of the inconspicuous direction Wilco has been heading in over the past decade, and is the best music they’ve made since 2002’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Influences like The Beatles and Neil Young are easy to hear, an inspiring combination that results in both strong songwriting and catchy pop hooks. Whether it’s a driving rock-out or folky love song, Jeff Tweedy’s work is thoughtful, honest, engaging, and welcoming. The lyrics are humanistic and existential. “I was born to die alone” and “It’s your God I don’t believe in / No, your Bible can’t be true” are challenges to Christian listeners, who shouldn’t take Tweedy’s convictions lightly.
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