Wilco | |
|---|---|
 Wilco atMassachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, Solid Sound Fest, 2011. Pictured left to right: Patrick Sansone, Mikael Jorgensen, Jeff Tweedy, Nels Cline, Glenn Kotche, John Stirratt | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Chicago,Illinois, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Works | Wilco discography |
| Years active | 1994 (1994)–present |
| Labels | |
| Spinoffs | |
| Spinoff of | Uncle Tupelo |
| Members | |
| Past members | |
| Website | wilcoworld |
Wilco is an Americanrock band based inChicago. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members ofalternative country groupUncle Tupelo after singerJay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently during its first decade, with only singerJeff Tweedy and bassistJohn Stirratt remaining from the original incarnation. Since early 2004 the lineup has been unchanged, consisting of Tweedy, Stirratt, guitaristNels Cline, multi-instrumentalistPat Sansone, keyboard playerMikael Jorgensen, and drummerGlenn Kotche. Wilco has released thirteen studio albums, a live double album, and four collaborations: three withBilly Bragg and one withthe Minus 5.
Wilco's music has been inspired by a wide variety of artists and styles includingBill Fay,the Beatles, andTelevision; in turn the band has influenced music by many modern alternative rock acts. The band continued in thealternative country style of Uncle Tupelo on its debut albumA.M. (1995), but has since introduced moreexperimental aspects to their music, including elements ofalternative rock and classic pop. Wilco's musical style has evolved from a 1990s country rock sound to a current "eclecticindie rock collective that touches on many eras and genres".[1]
Wilco received media attention for their fourth album,Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2001), and the controversy surrounding it. After the recording sessions were complete,Reprise Records rejected the album and dismissed Wilco from the label. As part of a buy-out deal, Reprise gave Wilco the rights to the album for free. After streamingFoxtrot on its website, Wilco sold the album toNonesuch Records in 2002. Both record labels are subsidiaries ofWarner Music Group, leading a critic to say the album showed "how screwed up the music business is in the early twenty-first century."[2] The event was immortalized in the documentaryI Am Trying to Break Your Heart; directorSam Jones followed the band as they wrote and produced the record.Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is Wilco's most successful release to date, selling over 670,000 copies. Wilco won twoGrammy Awards for their fifth studio album, 2004'sA Ghost Is Born, includingBest Alternative Music Album. Wilco released their thirteenth studio album,Cousin, in September 2023.
Wilco was formed following the breakup of the influential alternative country music groupUncle Tupelo. SingerJay Farrar quit the band in 1994 because of a soured relationship with co-singerJeff Tweedy.[3] Both Tweedy and Farrar immediately sought to form bands after the breakup, with Farrar organizingSon Volt. Tweedy's new band included all current members of Uncle Tupelo lineup sans Farrar, includingbassist John Stirratt,drummerKen Coomer, and multi-instrumentalistMax Johnston. He even enlisted Uncle Tupelo guest guitaristBrian Henneman ofthe Bottle Rockets to perform, who appears on many of the tracks for Wilco's debut album,A.M..[4] The group considered retaining the Uncle Tupelo name[5] but decided to call themselves "Wilco" after themilitary and commercial aviation radio voice abbreviation for "will comply",[6] a choice which Tweedy has said is "fairly ironic for a rock band to name themselves."[7]
After collaborating withSyd Straw on a cover version of theErnest Tubb song "The T.B. is Whipping Me" (released in September 1994 on theRed Hot + Country compilation produced by theRed Hot Organization), Wilco beganrecording tracks forA.M., their first studio album, at Easley studio in June 1994.[4][6][8] A demo tape from the recordings was sent to executives atReprise Records, a subsidiary ofWarner Brothers, and the label signed Tweedy to a contract. Although Tweedy said that he wanted a more collaborative project than Uncle Tupelo, only his name appeared on the Reprise contract.[9] Tweedy requested songwriting submissions from other members, but only one submission—John Stirratt's "It's Just That Simple"—appeared onA.M.. It was the last song Wilco ever released that was lyrically solely written by a member besides Tweedy.[9]
Stylistically similar to Uncle Tupelo, the music onA.M. was considered to be straightforward alternative country rock in what Tweedy later described as "trying to tread some water with a perceived audience."[10]A.M. peaked at number 27 on theBillboardHeatseekers chart, considerably lower than the debut album of Jay Farrar's new band,Son Volt.[11][12] The album was met with modest reviews though it would rank thirty-fourth in theVillage Voice's 1995Pazz & Jop critics poll.[13][14][15] Critically and commercially paling in comparison to the reception of Son Volt's album, the Wilco members perceivedA.M. to be a failure.[16] Shortly after the release of the album,multi-instrumentalistJay Bennett joined the band, providing the band with akeyboardist and another guitarist.
Wilco made its live debut on November 17, 1994 to a capacity crowd at Cicero's Basement Bar inSt. Louis,Missouri (the band was billed for the occasion as "Black Shampoo").[17] During the two hundred-date tour supportingA.M., Tweedy began to write songs for a second album. The lyrical theme of the songs reflected a relationship between musical artist and a listener; Tweedy chose this topic because he sought to eschew the alternative country fan base. Ken Coomer elaborated:[18]
The wholeNo Depression thing was funny to us because people seemed to forget that Jeff was a bigger punk-rock fan than a country fan. It led to things like us all switching instruments on "Misunderstood," where I'm playing guitar.
Wilco recorded a number of songs with this theme, including "Sunken Treasure" and "Hotel Arizona."[19] Wilco also recorded some songs in the style ofA.M.[20] Wilco named the albumBeing There after aPeter Sellersfilm of the same name. The band went through some personnel changes during the recording sessions. Max Johnston left the band because he felt that his role in the band had diminished in favor of Bennett; he had also been replaced by violinist Jesse Greene on one track because the band felt that Johnston was unable to play the part. Bob Egan ofFreakwater briefly joined the band in the studio, playingpedal steel guitar on "Far, Far Away" and "Dreamer in My Dreams", and then became an official member in September 1996.[21][22]
Unlike theA.M. recording sessions, the band had no desire to produce a hit song from their second effort.[23] The recording sessions produced nineteen songs, too many for a single album release. Tweedy was concerned about the high retail price that adouble album would be sold for (at least $30), so he asked Reprise Records to release it as a double album at a single album price ($17.98 or less). Reprise agreed to this on the terms that they received Wilco's share of the album royalties. It was estimated in 2003 that the band lost almost $600,000 on the deal, but Tweedy was satisfied.[24]Being There was well received by critics from several major media outlets, includingRolling Stone.[20][25][26] The album reached number 73 on theBillboard album charts,[27] a significant improvement fromA.M., and placed fourteenth on the Pazz & Jop Critics Poll for 1996.[28] The album's single "Outtasite (Outta Mind)" became the group's first song to enter theBillboard charts, reaching number 39 on theModern Rock Tracks chart and number 22 on theMainstream Rock Tracks chart.[29]
In November 1997, Wilco enteredWillie Nelson's recording studio inSpicewood,Texas to record a third studio album.[30] The album was lyrically inspired by the marital problems of Tweedy and his wife, as well as by twentieth-centuryliterature.[31] Tweedy relied heavily on Bennett to provide music for the singer's "bold, but depressing" lyrics.[32] Wilco recorded several songs, including "Via Chicago" and "She's a Jar", but began working on another project before assembling the tracks into an album.[30]
Nora Guthrie contacted singer-songwriterBilly Bragg in spring 1995 about recording some unreleased songs by her father, folk singerWoody Guthrie. Most of the songs were written late in Guthrie's life when he was unable to record due to the motor impairments ofHuntington's disease. By the 1990s, Woody Guthrie had become a "relic" to theMTV generation, and Nora sought to establish a different legacy for the musician. To Nora, Bragg was "the only singer I knew taking on the same issues as Woody." Bragg was concerned, however, that his fans would not realize that the songs were written by Guthrie when he performed them on tour, so he decided to record the album with another band.[33]
Bragg contacted Tweedy and Bennett about co-recording the album while Wilco was on the European segment of theirBeing There tour. Bragg was particularly fond ofBeing There because their influences extended farther back than the 1950s. Although Tweedy was indifferent to the offer, Bennett was enthused about recording songs with one of his idols—Bennett's previous band Titanic Love Affair was named after a Billy Bragg lyric. A recording contract between Bragg and Wilco was signed after a show atShepherd's Bush Empire. Bragg mostly recorded the politically charged lyrics, while Tweedy preferred to record lyrics that showcased Guthrie as a "freak weirdo." The recording ofMermaid Avenue began on December 12, 1997, and was the topic ofBBC'sMan in the Sand documentary film.[34]
Tempers flared between Bragg and Wilco after the album was completed. Bennett believed that Bragg was overproducing his songs, a sharp contrast to Wilco's sparser contributions. Bennett called Bragg about the possibility of remixing Bragg's songs, to which Bragg responded "you make your record, and I'll make mine..." Eventually Bragg sent copies of his recordings to Chicago for Bennett to remix, but Bragg refused to use the new mixes on the album. The two parties were unable to establish a promotional tour and quarreled over royalties and guest musician fees.
Despite these conflicts, the album was released on June 23, 1998, and sold over 277,000 copies.[35] The album received rave reviews from Robert Christgau andRolling Stone, and was nominated for aGrammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album.[36][37] It also placed fourth on the Pazz & Jop critics poll for 1998.[38] After the album was released, Bob Egan was replaced by multi-instrumentalistLeroy Bach.[39]
After the completion of theMermaid Avenue sessions, Wilco returned to Spicewood to complete their third studio album,Summerteeth. Unlike previous Wilco and Uncle Tupelo recordings, the album featured a lot of overdubbing withPro Tools.[40] Stirratt and Coomer were concerned with the production, since it reduced their involvement in the music. According to Stirratt:[41]
The story ofSummerteeth is Jay bought aMellotron and he was going to use it, no matter what. It was lovely, but it was overdone. Once they got going on the overdubs, they didn't stop. And nobody in the band stepped up to stop the madness ... It reminds me ofHeart of Darkness, where you knowingly extend the creative process for the purpose of exploration or redemption, or whatever it is you're looking for.
During 1999, Warner Brothers was looking to help repay a $16 billion debt acquired during the recent merger of parent company Warner Communications withTime Inc.[42] As a result, Warner'simprints were under pressure to produce musical acts that would yield hit records. The head of Reprise,Howie Klein, who had previously authorized the release ofBeing There as a double album, was willing to let Wilco produceSummerteeth without label input. When Klein played the album for Reprise's A&R department, however, they demanded a radio single for the album. Wilco agreed to do this "once and once only" and recorded a radio-friendly version of "Can't Stand It" at the request ofDavid Kahne, the head of the A&R department.[43] The single version of "Can't Stand It" failed to cross over fromTriple-A radio to alternative rock stations. The album sold only 200,000 copies, significantly less thanBeing There[44] despite critical acclaim; the album placed eighth on the Pazz & Jop critics' poll for 1999.[45]
After the release ofSummerteeth, the band resumed theMermaid Avenue sessions. Although they had recorded enough material for a second release in 1998, Wilco recorded a few new songs forMermaid Avenue Vol. II. "Someday Some Morning Sometime," featuring avibraphone filtered through aspace echo, was identified by Tweedy as being the "piece to the puzzle" towards the creation of their fourth studio album. The album was released on May 30, 2000, and was the last release from the sessions.[46] The remainder of the sessions were released in 2012 asMermaid Avenue Vol. III, also part ofMermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions.
Shortly after the recording sessions forMermaid Avenue Vol. II, Wilco purchased a studio on Irving Park Road in Chicago, which they named the Wilco Loft.[47] The band recorded tracks in the studio in early 2000 for a fourth studio album. In May 2000, Jeff Tweedy requested to perform withJim O'Rourke at a festival in Chicago; Tweedy was a fan of O'Rourke'sBad Timing. O'Rourke introduced Tweedy to drummerGlenn Kotche, and the trio enjoyed working together so much that they decided to record an album as a side project namedLoose Fur.[48] Wilco had recorded an entire album of music at this point, but Tweedy was unhappy with the drum parts. He enjoyed Kotche's contributions to Loose Fur so much that Tweedy brought him into the studio to re-record some demos. Some believe that Tweedy sought to make Wilco sound like Loose Fur after officially replacing Ken Coomer with Kotche in January 2001.[49]
Although Bennett sought to be the mixer and engineer forYankee Hotel Foxtrot, Tweedy was unsure of Bennett's abilities compared to O'Rourke. Tweedy and Bennett frequently argued over whether the album should be accessible to a general listener, or attempt to cover new musical ground.[50] Unbeknownst to Bennett, Tweedy invited O'Rourke to remix "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart", and the results impressed the other band members—even Bennett. Tensions grew between Bennett and O'Rourke because Bennett wanted to mix every song on the album. O'Rourke cut the contributions of other members on several of the songs; some songs, such as "Poor Places", only featured the Loose Fur trio.[51] The album was completed in 2001, and Bennett was dismissed from the band immediately afterwards.[52] The recording of the album was documented bySam Jones and released in 2002 as the filmI Am Trying to Break Your Heart: A Film About Wilco.
Time Warner, which owned Warner Bros. Records, merged withAmerica Online in 2001, leading to more pressure on Warner's record labels to cut costs. Over 600 employees of Warner Music Group were fired, including Howie Klein, the president of Reprise Records.
David Kahne became the interim head of Reprise.[53] Kahne assigned Mio Vukovic to monitor the progress ofYankee Hotel Foxtrot and to offer suggestions. Music journalist Greg Kot claims that Vukovic disliked the album and was unhappy that Wilco ignored his suggestions.[54] He brought the album to Kahne, who felt that there was no single on the album. In June 2001, thealbum was rejected by Reprise and Wilco was asked to leave the label.[55]
Wilco managed to negotiate a buy-out from Reprise.Music journalist Greg Kot claims that instead of financial compensation, the band agreed to leave the label with the master tapes ofYankee Hotel Foxtrot.[56] The label was already receiving bad publicity for its treatment of the band and were willing to accommodate Wilco's request.[57] However, AllMusic claims "Warner/Reprise agreed to sell them the masters for a reported $50,000" after Wilco was "unwilling to change the album to make it more 'commercially viable'." In a last-minute decision, the label freed Wilco from their contract and gave them the album at no charge.[58] Curbing the negative publicity, Warner Music Group began to invest more in bands includingThe Flaming Lips. Lead singerWayne Coyne remarked:[59]
We are benefiting from the label's regret over Wilco. We are living in the golden age of that being such a public mistake. The people on Warners said, "we'll never have a band like Wilco feel we don't believe in them again." They'd tell me that it would never happen to us. And what a great day for me!
As the band searched for a new label to release the album, they decided to stream it on their official website to discourage illegal trading of low-qualityMP3s.[60] The band signed withNonesuch Records, anotherTime Warner subsidiary, and the album was released in the spring of 2002. When it was released,Yankee Hotel Foxtrot reached number 13 on theBillboard 200, Wilco's highest chart position to that date.[61]Yankee Hotel Foxtrot sold over 590,000 copies, and to date remains Wilco's best-selling album.[62]Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was met with extensive critical acclaim: it topped 2002's Pazz & Jop critics' poll and was named one of the 100 greatest albums of all time byQ Magazine.[63][64][65]Rolling Stone rated it at number 493 of their 500 Greatest Albums of all Time, in May 2012.[66] In the 2020 reboot of the list, its ranking was raised to number 225.
In September 2022 the band released a variety of reissues of the album, including an 11-LP "Super Deluxe" version. The reissue won aGrammy for Best Historical Album.
While waiting for the commercial release ofYankee Hotel Foxtrot, Wilco agreed to supportR.E.M. collaboratorScott McCaughey for an album release byThe Minus 5. They scheduled a recording session for September 11, 2001, but were distraught about the9/11 terrorist attacks that day.[67] Later that day, Wilco and McCaughey agreed to "create something good in the world right now" and record some material.[68] Influenced byBill Fay'sTime of the Last Persecution, The Minus 5'sDown with Wilco was released in 2003.[69] KeyboardistMikael Jorgensen, who had engineeredDown with Wilco, joined Wilco in 2002 as they toured in support ofYankee Hotel Foxtrot.
In November 2003, Wilco traveled to New York City to record their fifth album. The album was produced by Jim O'Rourke, who mixedFoxtrot and was a member of Wilco side project Loose Fur. UnlikeSummerteeth andYankee Hotel Foxtrot,A Ghost Is Born featured songs that were created with Pro Tools before ever performing them live.[70] The album featured the song "Less Than You Think", which included a fifteen-minute track of electronic noises and synthesizers, which Tweedy called "the track that everyone will hate". Tweedy justified the inclusion of the song:[70]
I know ninety-nine percent of our fans won't like that song, they'll say it's a ridiculous indulgence. Even I don't want to listen to it every time I play through the album. But the times I do calm myself down and pay attention to it, I think it's valuable and moving and cathartic. I wouldn't have put it on the record if I didn't think it was great ... I wanted to make an album about identity, and within that is the idea of a higher power, the idea of randomness, and that anything can happen, and that we can't control it.
Leroy Bach left the band immediately after the album's completion to join a music theatre operation in Chicago.[71] LikeYankee Hotel Foxtrot, Wilco streamed the album online before its commercial release. Instead of using their own web page, the band streamed it inMPEG-4 form onApple's website.[72] Wilco decided to substantially change their lineup after Bach's departure addingPat Sansone ofThe Autumn Defense, andavant-garde guitaristNels Cline to the lineup.[68][73] Just as the band was about to tour to promote the album, Tweedy checked himself into arehabilitation clinic in Chicago for an addiction toopioids. As a result, tour plans for Europe were canceled, and the release date for the album was set back several weeks.[74]A Ghost Is Born was released on June 22, 2004, and became Wilco's first top ten album in the U.S.[75] The album earned WilcoGrammy Awards forBest Alternative Music Album andBest Recording Package in 2005.[76] It also placed thirteenth on 2004's Pazz & Jop Critics Poll.[77]
In 2004, the band releasedThe Wilco Book, a picture book detailing the creation ofA Ghost Is Born. The book also contains writings and drawings from band members, as well as a CD with demos from theA Ghost Is Born recording sessions.[78] Also that year,Chicago Tribune music criticGreg Kot released a biography of the band entitledWilco: Learning How to Die. The new six-piece Wilco lineup, which has remained intact ever since, debuted onKicking Television: Live in Chicago, a two disc live album recorded atThe Vic Theater in Chicago. Released on November 15, 2005, the album received high accolades fromSpin,Billboard, andEntertainment Weekly.[79] As of 2007 it has sold over 114,000 copies.[62]
Wilco returned to their loft in Chicago to record a sixth studio album in 2006. Influenced byThe Byrds andFairport Convention, the band consideredSky Blue Sky to be less experimental than previous releases.[62] Also unlike on previous albums, the songs were created as collaborations.
Wilco streamed the album online on March 3, 2007, and offered the song "What Light" as a free MP3 download.[80] Further publicizing the album, Wilco licensed several songs from theSky Blue Sky recording sessions for use in aVolkswagen advertising campaign. The move was criticized by both critics and fans; Wilco responded by noting that they had previously done advertising campaigns withApple Inc. andTelefónica Móviles (Movistar).[81][82][83] The album was released on May 15, 2007, and was a commercial success: it sold over 87,000 copies in its first week and peaked in the top five in the U.S. album charts.[84] It was a top forty hit in seven other countries.[85]
Reviewer James Brubaker says that Wilco "shine[s] on a handful of the songs" onSky Blue Sky, such as the "light, and straightforward" songs. While he calls it a "great traditional rock and folk album at times,...the rest of the record comes off at times as dull, and forced."[86] A review inallaboutjazz also had mixed comments. While praising the album as "deceptively insinuating, almost intoxicating to listen to" and noting its "impeccable sound quality," the review said that "Sky Blue Sky becomes the first Wilco album that sounds too careful for its own good."[87]
Pabs Hernandez, a reviewer forLost at Sea, praised the album's "breezy atmosphere and pacing," and noted that it is not "easily judged upon first listen." Overall, Hernandez mentioned that it "may be no masterpiece, but at worst it's a more than worthy entry into Wilco's laudable catalogue."[88] Reviewer Greg Locke praised the record as "one of the best albums of the year," calling it a "timeless record, full of sweet, hopeful sophistication and class" and "a lean, mean, soulful album." Like Hernandez, Locke acknowledged that the album could not be properly judged just on the first listening.[89] The NPR review also had a positive take on the record. While the NPR reviewer stated that the recording "isn't groundbreaking," they praised its "coherent musical expression" and emphasis on "solid songcraft without pretense" which created a "satisfying and melodically sound album."[90]
In anticipation of the2008 US presidential election, Wilco released a downloadable version ofBob Dylan's "I Shall Be Released" that they performed withFleet Foxes. The MP3 was available as a free download from the band's website in exchange for a promise to vote in the election.[91] The band also made an appearance onThe Colbert Report to support presidential candidateBarack Obama.[92] Wilco released a live performance DVD,Ashes of American Flags, on April 18, 2009, to celebrateRecord Store Day.[93]
In December 2008, Jeff Tweedy, Pat Sansone, Glenn Kotche, and John Stirratt traveled toAuckland, New Zealand to participate inNeil Finn's7 Worlds Collide sequel project,The Sun Came Out, joined byEd O'Brien,Phil Selway,Johnny Marr,KT Tunstall,Liam Finn, andLisa Germano. They wrote and recorded several new tracks for theOxfam-benefiting album including "You Never Know," "What Could Have Been," "Over and Done," and "Don't Forget Me." Jeff Tweedy co-wrote "Too Blue" with Johnny Marr, and Glenn, John, and Pat play on most tracks on the album.[94]
The band stayed in Auckland through January recording for their next album at Finn's ownRoundhead Studios. Jim Scott, who was the engineer and mixer for the Neil Finn project, stayed on in the same capacity for the Wilco sessions. Nels Cline and Mikael Jorgensen later added overdubs to the tracks at the band's Chicago Loft.
Wilco released their seventh album,Wilco (The Album), on June 30, 2009.[95] In March 2009, it was announced that singer-songwriterFeist would make a guest appearance on the new album, on the track "You and I".[96] As with their previous three albums, Wilco streamed the entirety of the album on its website prior to release.[97] The album hit the charts at a career-high number 4 with sales of 99,000 on the Billboard Top 200 Album chart as well as the number 2 spot on Billboard's Top Rock Albums chart.[98] It marked Wilco's third top 10 album on the U.S. pop chart. The album's first single "You Never Know" reached the number 1 spot on the AAA Chart, their first number 1 in twelve years.[99]
Beginning in April 2009, the band freely distributed a cover of Woody Guthrie's "The Jolly Banker", downloadable from their website. It was recorded at the Wilco loft in February of that year, at the suggestion of Guthrie's daughter,Nora.[100] Those downloading the album were encouraged to donate to theWoody Guthrie Foundation. Feist returned to accompany on the track, playing theGarden Weasel.[101] The track eventually became unavailable for download. In October 2011, the website began streaming the track via aplugin.[102]
On May 25, 2009, former band memberJay Bennett died in his home inUrbana, Illinois.[103] In a prepared statement, Jeff Tweedy said that he was "deeply saddened" by Bennett's death.[104]
Feist and Wilco performed "You and I" onLate Show with David Letterman on July 14, 2009.[105] In June during their West Coast tour, Wilco joinedBeck, Feist,Jamie Lidell andJames Gadson in the studio to take part in Beck'sRecord Club project, coveringSkip Spence'sOar album.[106] The first song "Little Hands" was posted on Beck's website on November 12, 2009.
On April 6, 2010, Wilco announced during theirBoston performance that they would be headlining and curating a festival inNorth Adams,Massachusetts, dubbed Solid Sound Festival. The event ran at theMassachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art from August 13–15, and featured various Wilco side projects, including The Autumn Defense, Pronto,The Nels Cline Singers, and Jeff Tweedy solo.[107] Other bands who appeared includedMavis Staples,Avi Buffalo,Outrageous Cherry,Richard Bishop,the Books, andVetiver. It also featured non-musical media, such as theBread and Puppet Theater and comediansTodd Barry,Kristen Schaal,John Mulaney, andHannibal Buress as well as interactive musical installations by Cline and Kotche. In November 2016, the band also curated their own program during the tenth Anniversary Edition ofLe Guess Who? Festival in Utrecht, The Netherlands. This curated program includes performances by amongst othersTortoise,Bassekou Kouyaté,Lee Ranaldo,Fennesz,Steve Gunn,William Tyler, andThe Cairo Gang.
Wilco's contract with Nonesuch ended in 2010 and they formed their own label. Wilco announced via their web site and Twitter page on January 27, 2011 that the new label will be calleddBpm Records (Decibels per Minute) and will be run out of the offices of their manager, Tony Margherita, inEasthampton, Massachusetts.[108]
Wilco's released their eighth studio album,The Whole Love, on September 27, 2011.[109] The first single of the album is titled "Art of Almost". The B-Side to "I Might" is a cover of Nick Lowe's 1977 song "I Love My Label". The single was shown at the Wilco's 2011 Solid Sound Festival atMassMoca and was met by positive reviews. The entire album was streamed live on Wilco's official website for 24 hours between September 3 and 4, 2011.[110]
Wilco's released their ninth studio album,Star Wars, on July 16, 2015 as asurprise free download.[111] In October 2015, Wilco announced that they would embark on a U.S. tour beginning in early 2016 in support of the album.[112] In December 2015,Star Wars was nominated for theGrammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album.[113]
On July 14, 2016, the band released a new single, titled "Locator", as a free download.[114] Four days later, the band released another new single, titled "If I Ever Was a Child", and announced that their tenth album,Schmilco, would be released on September 9.[115]Schmilco earned generally favourable reviews, earning a positive score of 79 on Metacritic,[116] while reviewer Josh Modell said that the album is "Wilco's most musically simple and emotionally resonant record in a decade."[117] On Monday, August 14, 2017, Wilco released a single, "All Lives You Say" on theirBandcamp page to benefit theSPLC in memory of Tweedy's father Robert, who died on August 4. Sharing the news Tweedy said, "My dad was named after a Civil War general, and he voted forBarack Obama twice. He used to say 'If you know better, you can do better.' America-we know better, we can do better."[118]
Wilco took 2018 off from touring while Glenn Kotche lived in Finland after his wife Miiri received a Fulbright scholarship.[119] The band announced an end to their performing hiatus and the release of the albumOde to Joy on July 16, 2019.[120] The album was released on October 4, 2019[120] and received generally positive reviews with Will Hermes ofRolling Stone calling it their "best in years" and delivers "something like love shines through, and it winds up sounding joyful indeed, in a hard-won way."[121] The album won the Grammy Award for best Special Limited Edition Package.[122]
Wilco followed the release with an autumn tour, the tour later being extended into 2020.[123][124] In March 2020, Wilco andSleater-Kinney announced that over the summer they would be embarking on the co-headlining It's Time Tour.[125] After the cancellation of the tour in the wake of theCOVID-19 pandemic, Wilco and Sleater-Kinney eventually rescheduled the tour for the summer of 2021.[126] In October 2021, Wilco was inducted into theAustin City Limits Hall of Fame for their multiple contributions to the live music series that airs onPBS.[127]
During the COVID-19 lockdown, the band released the single "Tell Your Friends" on Bandcamp on May 20, 2020, with all proceeds benefitingWorld Central Kitchen.[128] In July 2020, as a voice to the larger cultural discussion and protests surrounding themurder of George Floyd, Tweedy announced that 5% of all his writer royalties would be donated to a program that distributes the funds to organizations fighting for racial justice, saying that the modern music industry is "built almost entirely on black art" and that "the wealth that rightfully belonged to black artists was stolen outright and to this day continues to grow outside their communities."[129]
In 2021,Where are you, Jay Bennett?, a feature-length documentary about the life of Jay Bennett was released. The film focused heavily on Bennett's years with Wilco. Directed byGorman Bechard and Fred Uhter, the music documentary held its world premiere in Chicago in November 2021;[130] it was released on Blu Ray and pay-per-view on April 19, 2022, and as part of aRecord Store Day release with vinyl editions of Bennett's last two albums,Whatever Happened I Apologize andKicking at the Perfumed Air on April 23, 2022.[131]
"The new film does a wonderful job of capturing the quirkiness, inventiveness and brilliance of someone who never met an instrument he couldn't play. Bennett once described hearing the open spaces of the songs and holes that became his sonic landscape. They were at the core of the remarkable string of Wilco's albumsBeing There,Summerteeth, andYankee Hotel Foxtrot."[132]
The film was originally started by Uhter, who asked the prolific Bechard to take over the project when it stalled. It takes a hard look at Bennett's treatment in the previous Wilco documentary,I Am Trying To Break Your Heart, which many consider to be unfair. "Jay Bennett's reputation never quite recovered from the battering it took in Sam Jones' documentaryI Am Trying To Break Your Heart: A Film About Wilco, about the complex, lengthy gestation of 2002'sYankee Hotel Foxtrot in often painful detail, portrayed a band slowly pulling itself apart, with chief songwriters Bennett and Jeff Tweedy its twin opposing forces. The implication being that Bennett was a headstrong, intractable figure responsible for most of the discord. He was sacked as soon as the album was done. Filmmakers Gorman Bechard and Fred Uhter seek to redress the balance onWhere Are You, Jay Bennett?".[133] The film painted a much more balanced picture of the relationship between Bennett and Tweedy. "They just happened to be two egos at that point, fueled by a lot of demons. And it just wasn't working anymore," Bechard explained. "They're both incredibly talented. They both had egos. They both, I think, saw maybe different paths for the band. And ultimately it was Jeff's band, so he's going to win that, and rightfully so. There were other issues, whether it be alcohol or drugs. You know, it was a little bit of everything. Personally, I wish they had stayed together because I think they could have literally become the next Lennon and McCartney or the next Jagger/Richards."[134]
In April 2022, the band announced their twelfth studio album,Cruel Country, which they released on May 27.[135] The album was recorded entirely in person in live sessions at The Loft, the first album since 2007'sSky Blue Sky. Tweedy described the album as saying, "We've never been particularly comfortable with accepting [...] the idea that I was making country music. But now, having been around the block a few times, we're finding it exhilarating to free ourselves within the form, and embrace the simple limitation of calling the music we're making country."[135]
In August 2023, the band announced their thirteenth studio album,Cousin, which they released on September 29. Welsh musicianCate Le Bon produced the album.[136]
On May 29, 2024, the band announced a newEP,Hot Sun Cool Shroud. It was released on June 28.[137]
On May 16, 2025, the band released a new live album,Wilco Live (Orange). It was followed on June 20, 2025, byWilco Live (Blue).
In August 2025, the band embarked on a North American tour titled An August Evening with Wilco,[138] followed by South American and European legs. Many of the dates feature no supporting act and contained two full Wilco sets with a brief intermission.[139]
Mark Deming ofAllMusic described Wilco's early releases as "rough-and-tumblealt-country" and their later releases as "mature andeclectic".[140] Although they have a career-long association with a major record label, Wilco are generally associated withindie rock.[58][141] The band has additionally been described by journalists asalternative rock,[142] alt-country,[143]art rock,[144]experimental rock,[145] andfolk rock.[146] Wilco draws influence from bands from a variety of musical genres, but primarily from music created between 1966 and 1974.[147][148]John Cale'sParis 1919 was credited by the band as providing a musical parallel. According to Tweedy, "It was eye-opening that I wasn't the only person that felt like these worlds had a lot more in common than they'd been given credit for—that experimentation and avant-garde theory was not directly opposed to beauty, y'know?"[149]
Other recording artists from the timespan cited as most influential by the band includeJohn Lennon,Neil Young, andBrian Wilson.[150][151] As a gift for his thirty-fourth birthday, Tweedy received a private guitar lesson fromRichard Lloyd ofTelevision; Tweedy was a fan of the group and was particularly fond of the guitar work, which he wanted to incorporate into his music.[70] Uncle Tupelo was inspired by bands such asJason & the Scorchers and theMinutemen, influencing the recording of Wilco'sA.M..[152] Tweedy and O'Rourke enjoyedfree jazz artists such asOrnette Coleman,Albert Ayler, andDerek Bailey; they also listen to mainstream jazz by artists such asMiles Davis andJohn Coltrane.[153][154] The lyrical structure of Wilco's songs was dictated by classic literature andcadavre exquis—an exercise where band members take turns writing lines on a typewriter, but are only allowed to see the previously written line.[154] Among the books that the band has cited as being stylistically influential includeWilliam H. Gass'sIn the Heart of the Heart of the Country,Henry Miller'sTropic of Cancer, andHarold Bloom'sThe Anxiety of Influence: A Theory of Poetry.[154][155]
Some critics have dubbed Wilco the "AmericanRadiohead", due to the band's stylistically diverse catalog.[156][157][158] A critic from theNew York Times argues that Wilco has a "roots-rock ... [sound which] reached back to proven materials: the twang of country, the steady chug of 1960s rock, the undulating sheen ofthe Beach Boys, thehonky-tonk hymns ofthe Band and the melodic symmetries of pop."[159]
Rolling Stone described Wilco as "one of America's most consistently interesting bands" and "America's foremost rock impressionists."[160][161] Bands that Wilco has influenced includeDerek Webb (ofCaedmon's Call),[162]the National,[163] andGrace Potter and the Nocturnals.[164]Adam Grunduciel ofThe War on Drugs calls Wilco his "Favorite modern day band."[165]Norah Jones performed a cover of "Jesus, Etc." at the 2008Bridge School Benefit where both Jones and Wilco performed;[166] a version of the song was released as a bonus track on Jones' albumThe Fall in 2009.Counting Crows also covered the song "California Stars."[167]
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