January 20, 2023

DBPM RECORDS

2xLP (Black and Red/White Indie Exclusive Vinyl)

After building up and tearing down the sonic landscape of Indie rock on countless albums through their decades-long run, WIlco has gone back to the earliest days of their career with the earthy Cruel Country, which draws on Americana and – true to its title – country influences to make for the most straight-forward set of songs we’ve heard from them in years. While there is certainly an underlying darkness that comes with the album, like anything from Wilco, this is the band at their warmest and seemingly happiest, with the newfound optimism of frontman Jeff Tweedy’s solo work holding a clear influence over the songs.