“Maybe the sun will come out today/Maybe the clouds will go away,” croons Jeff Tweedy on the first track of Sky Blue Sky. Indeed, it seems like Wilco has finally turned its head away from the dark depression that Tweedy embodied for most his adult life. This album shows a much softer, happier side of Tweedy and Wilco, ripe with delightful guitar solos (you should have seen them in concert!) and rather trippy lyrics. Some have critiqued Wilco for never having lyrical substance, but to say this is to completely disparage the care that they have taken to make their words sound important. They still manage to do the same with Sky Blue Sky, but their message is just a littler clearer, a little more direct.

Perhaps it’s that directness that is so appealing about Sky Blue Sky. Many listeners have cited this album as Wilco’s worst, but I would say that these individuals never really understood Wilco in the first place. This is a success story, and SBS is the part in the movie where they all the hard work and dedication pays off. Listen to “Impossible Germany” and tell me that Tweedy doesn’t have a smile on his face when that 3 minute guitar solo just frees itself from the speakers. Even in person, they all look content with where they are musically–and perhaps it’s that balance, that calmness that upsets people.

But ignore those fools and play SBS loud. You’ll hear the sweet-talkin’ Tweedy’s sensitive side on “Hate it Here”, and you won’t be able to get that Theologian-like “Walken” out of your head. Play the Neil-Youngesque “What Light”, and you’ll be sold that this album is as solid as the defining Yankee Hotel Foxtrot or A Ghost is Born.

So forget what you’ve been told. Go and get yourself a copy of Sky Blue Sky.
Listen to “Impossible Germany” (4.8/5)
Listen to “What Light” (4.4/5)

As I watched Wilco in a gymnasium turned rock club Friday night, I was continually impressed with the band’s impeccable time and seamless transitions. Kudos to the whole band for an impressive, well-rehearsed set, but I would like to focus on the man behind the kit, Glenn Kotche. Naturally, Kotche is most well-known for his work with Wilco. Seeing him live is a real tribute to his tasteful musicianship. He never sticks out or overplays, but makes his presence heard by staying “in the pocket,” and adding tom-tom and cymbal flourishes to spice up Wilco’s guitar-driven tracks.

Kotche, who studied percussion at University of Kentucky, has released his own solo albums and collaborated with a number of varied musicians, including experimental guitarist and music producer Jim O’Rourke, and jazz bassist Darin Gray.

Kotche’s solo efforts, the most recent came out in 2006, show a side of him that exists only latently in his work with Wilco. While he dabbles with electronics and more obscure percussion instruments with Wilco, he really lets his creative juices out in his solo albums. Check out his website to listen to some tracks from his experimental, improvisatory solo albums, and to learn more about his side projects (including an experimental rock trio with Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy and Jim O’Rourke).