Wilco Streams Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

When Wilco split from Reprise Records in August over creative differences, some of the group's fans let out a sigh of relief. The group's creative ambitions seemed out of sync with AOL Time Warner's increased focus on the bottom line.

The downside was that the group's fourth full-length, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, lost its 2001 release date and now isn't expected to be released until next year. But while 30-some labels have been courting them, Wilco have taken the initiative, streaming Yankee Hotel Foxtrot in its entirety from their official Web site, www.wilcoweb.com.

This record reflects some major changes in the band, among them the departure of two key members — drummer Ken Coomer and guitarist Jay Bennett. Now in the band are singer/guitarist Jeff Tweedy, bassist John Stirratt, drummer Glenn Kotche and multi-instrumentalist Leroy Bach, who has toured with Wilco in the past.

Although Bennett does appear on the album, it is obvious that his mastery of Gasoline Alley-era power pop wasn't needed. With the help of producer Jim O'Rourke (Stereolab, Sonic Youth and all things Chicago), Tweedy's songwriting style is even more introspective on YHF than on 1999's lush Summerteeth.

Early reports of Can-influenced noodling and Captain Beefheart-style abrasiveness and experimentation were greatly exaggerated. Still, songs like "I'm the Man Who Loves You," "Poor Places," "Radio Cure" and "Jesus, Etc." do stretch the boundaries of Tweedy's style, replacing banjos and pedal steels with piercing off-tempo riffs, mellotrons and bursts of toneless static.

The release date for I Am Trying to Break Your Heart, director Sam Jones' documentary on the making of YHF, may not change, as it was slated for next year anyway. But one hopes he had the opportunity to shoot the battles over the album between band and label, and that those scenes make their way into the finished film.

Wilco are currently touring the East Coast in support of YHF. It may be the first time a band has ever toured for an album that's only available online for free. But based on Wilco's fiercely loyal fan base, there will assuredly be folks singing along to all the new songs regardless. — Yancey Strickler [Tuesday, September 25, 2001]