REVIEW: Wilco (the Album)–Same Old Wilco Song, Just What Fans Wanted.

As the years go by, Wilco seems to work harder and harder to make people dislike it based on meandering whims (A Ghost is Born, anyone?), heartbreaking line-up shifts (Jay Bennett, RIP) and, well, pretty much every word that comes out of Jeff Tweedy’s mouth when he isn’t singing.

So, with its seventh album, is Wilco still worth listening to? Or have fans simply invested too much time in the band to turn away from it now?

Everything about Wilco’s latest album seems very carefully crafted to elicit a specific response from listeners and critics: from the camel waiting for the patio party to start on the album cover, to the fact that the album is actually titled Wilco (the Album).

Maybe the wry detachment is meant to conjure images of pop-art aloofness or sly nonchalance. Maybe it’s a way of labeling the album so that listeners know exactly what to expect: a typical Wilco album.

Or maybe, it’s all just a joke, and the band is trying to show that it doesn’t actually take itself quite as seriously as is expected of a band with so many rabid fans (unlike groups such as U2, Radiohead, Billy Corgan, Coldplay).

Opening number “Wilco (the Song)” bounces around with Warren Zevon’s goofy zeal, establishing the album’s straightforward vibe, stripping away some of the group’s recent experimental vibe in favor of simple, solid songs.

Or, that’s the way it seems.

In truth, the album gets most of the fun out of its system during the first three and a half minutes, making the rest of the record a downbeat, mopey affair full of broken hearts and acoustic guitars-fertile ground for songwriters, certainly-but it threatens to become overworked soil for Wilco. However, this is still what Tweedy and Co. excel at; It’s well-crafted bummer that might be the soundtrack to a bad relationship, but it’s a drag if it pops up randomly on your playlist.

If you sucked all of the sugar-pop fun out of a Pernice Brothers album, it might sound like this; raspy-voiced in the middle of the night with an acoustic guitar and a long list of regrets.

“You & I” finds Tweedy teaming up with iPod-approved indie it-girl Feist for a duet. Feist’s presence on the acoustic duet is so subtle that it’s almost wasted, and it makes you wonder if a singer like Neko Case, Jenny Lewis or Regina Spektor could’ve held their own against Tweedy a little better, or if he would’ve just turned them down in the mixing booth anyway.

“All you fat followers get fit fast/ Every generation thinks it’s the last,” sings Tweedy on lead single “You Never Know,” a mid-album pick-me-up with a bouncing piano line that makes it the album’s spirited standout in an otherwise slow-moving collection.

The bottom line: Wilco (the Album) sounds exactly like Wilco (the band) probably should at this point in its long career: Comfortable. And while the same old song will probably keep fans happy for now, let’s just hope the band doesn’t stay comfortable for too long-if Tweedy cheers up, he’ll have nothing to sing about.

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