Pandemic, schmandemic. Wilco's leader Tweedy has kept going at his usual heavy pace despite being stuck at home. He's been putting out an album a year or more much of the last decade, between solo and band works. There's been an on-going reissue series of classic Wilco albums, with plenty of unreleased bonus material to organize. Oh, and he wrote his second book, released in 2020 as well.
Of course being at home is not really an inconvenience for him. When he doesn't have Wilco around, he's got his kids Spencer and Sammy. In effect, he grew his own band. During Covid, the Tweedy family gave us an Instagram series called The Tweedy Show, with dad and the kids doing originals and covers, Spencer the drummer and Sammy helping on vocals.
Love Is The King isn't a thick and rich album, in the Wilco style. It's lighter, more light-hearted, easily-digested as opposed to the sonically dense group material. However, that doesn't make it any less rewarding, and offers a more accessible way to enjoy Tweedy. He has a great sense of humour, and the pressure's off. If Tweedy wants to write a country song, he just does it, and there are a few here. The lyrics are upfront and uncomplicated, but bang-on with Tweedy's warmhearted sincerity. In "Guess Again," he sings of eating tomatoes right off the vine, "and if you think that's the best thing/That I ever knew/Guess again/My Love/It's you." And "Natural Disaster" is another one to make you smile: "I've never been blown by the winds of a hurricane/Never been in a flood/I've never been buried up to my neck in mud/But I have fallen in love/And that's enough/Of a natural disaster for me." What's fun for Tweedy and his kids is just as fun for us. Vinyl enthusiasts can look for the clear vinyl version.
Will be sure to search it out.
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