Wilco

The roots of Wilco lie in the seminal American band Uncle Tupelo fronted by Jeff Tweedy and his lifelong friend Jay Farrar. When they split in 1994, Jeff Tweedy formed Wilco with the remaining members of Uncle Tupelo and released their debut album AM in 1995, sticking closely to the blues-country rock formula associated with their previous band. However, their second album Being There saw them become boldly eclectic, drawing on everything from R&B to Beatles-esque pop, even incorporating soul and psychedelia. The band then took a break to work on side projects, which included Jeff Tweedy's collaboration with Billy Bragg on two Mermaid Avenue albums of newly discovered, half-finished Woody Guthrie songs. Their third album Summerteeth was different again, with a lush and sophisticated classic pop sound, but the experimental nature of their next album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot provoked their split from their label and the departure of guitarist Jay Bennett, yet they continued to have considerable mainstream success. Further personnel changes surrounded their 2004 album A Ghost Is Born, but subsequent albums Sky Blue Sky and Wilco (The Album) confirmed their reputation as one of America's most satisfyingly adventurous bands. In 2009 Jay Bennett died of an accidental overdose, an event which had a deep impact on the band. The Whole Love was released in 2011, with the entire album made available to stream for 24 hours prior to its physical release. This was followed by Star Wars, their ninth studio album, which was released as a free download. Star Wars earned them a Grammy nomination for Best Alternative Music Album in 2015 as they embarked on a US tour. Soon after, they announced their tenth album Schmilco, which was released in 2016. After Schmilco received positive reviews they began working on the single "All Lives, You Say?" which was posted on their Bandcamp page in memory of Jeff Tweedy's late father Robert. The band mused on 'rockism' for their stripped-back eleventh album Ode to Joy, released in 2019, before doubling down on their country roots for the 2022 follow-up Cruel Country. In 2023, they worked with an outside producer for the first time since 2009, recruiting Cate le Bon as their first outside producer for their thirteenth studio album Cousin. The LP went down well with critics and yielded two singles: "Evicted" and the title track.

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