New Wilco

One of the happiest mysteries of the past decade is how Jeff Tweedy has evolved into a peerless experimental rock bandleader whose increasingly innovative work remains grounded in an accessible, rootsy ethos. In part, this transformation has been driven by a revolving cast of muses – musical luminaries like Jay Bennett and Jim O’Rourke who have pushed Tweedy’s Wilco to set the bar higher on each release. With Sky Blue Sky that mantle has shifted to avant garde jazz guitarist Nels Cline whose New Monastery – an audacious interpretation of Andrew Hill’s music – was one of the most interesting records of 2006.

Against such a backdrop, anything less than a once-in-a-generation album would have suffered from high expectations. And while Sky Blue Sky is still a solid release, it falls far short of its promise, instead landing near the top of that largely risk-averse, roots-and-jam-band genre known as “dad rock.”

Musically, Sky Blue Sky is a mature follow-up to the band’s 1996 release Being There. The songs are impeccable; Tweedy sprinkles in a few well-timed George Harrison licks, and percussionist Glenn Kotche, a longstanding enemy of the standard backbeat, mixes up the rhythms enough to engage listeners, but never lets them forget it’s a rock album. Still, Wilco has traversed much ground since 1996. A throwback to that earlier Wilco does not do them justice.

There are exceptions - the back-to-back “Side With The Seeds” and “Shake It Off.” The two traverse miles of musical ground in a manner not attempted since the days of early Pink Floyd or Selling England-era Genesis. Cline earns his paycheck here, adding textures that turn what would otherwise be simply solid compositions into mind-blowing psychedelic affairs.

To be sure, many of the other songs on Sky Blue Sky will be welcome additions to the Wilco canon once they’ve been worked out in the live arena. But at their core, they’re a step back both musically and lyrically.