Album review: Wilco’s Schmilco will make a lot of music fans happy

The Chicago sextet are in an acoustic mood musing on happiness, loneliness, isolation and loss on Schmilco.

Schmilco by Wilco. Courtesy dBpm Records
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Schmilco

Wilco

(dBpm Records)

Four stars

Wilco's Schmilco finds the Chicago sextet in a mostly acoustic mood, musing on happiness, loneliness, isolation and loss. Not exactly arena rock-anthem material, then – and that should hearten even the most hardened Wilco fan.

Schmilco takes a break from the style of Wilco's previous three records, on which they delved heavily into loud electric rock, in sometimes brilliant fashion. Instead, Schmilco feels more akin to Sukierae, the 2014 side project by lead singer and songwriter Jeff Tweedy and his son.

The songs are still melodic, although sometimes dissonant and in minor chords, perfectly matching with the biting lyrics longtime Wilco followers have come to appreciate from Tweedy. He has described the record, Wilco’s 10th studio album, as “joyously negative” – and it is.

"I always hated those normal American kids," Tweedy sweetly sings on the opener, Normal American Kids, one of the standout tracks.

And on the ironically titled Happiness, Tweedy delivers this gut-punch: "Happiness depends on who you blame." Schmilco will undoubtedly make a lot of music fans happy – and you can blame Tweedy and company for that.

artslife@thenational.ae