WILCO
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
(Nonesuch)
JAY BENNETT & EDWARD BURCH
The Palace at 4am (Part 1)
(Undertow)
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, the fourth album from 90s rock icon Wilco, was one of the most anticipated releases of 2001. The band had already proved itself capable of moving beyond its alternative country roots on its 1996 opus Being There, and had shown itself willing to completely obliterate the expectations of its audience on the follow-up Summerteeth. That record dropped any roots rock affectations left over from the group's early days, diving headlong into lush, quirky pop music and inducing orgasms in some fans and critics and utter bewilderment in others.

So the question was inevitably posed: what would Wilco sound like on Yankee Hotel Foxtrot? Would the quintet simply refine the breakthroughs on Summerteeth or go in another direction entirely? Further adding to the speculation were the reports that (a) Wilco's label Reprise had dropped it for making an album that was too uncommercial (whatever that means) and (b) guitarist/keyboardist Jay Bennett, whose wide-ranging instrumental capabilities had particularly shaped the band's sound on Summerteeth, had left to pursue his own muse. Wilco leaked tracks from the record on its website, but most of its audience didn't have a chance to hear the new work until Nonesuch Records (a subsidiary of Warner Bros., as is Reprise) released it in the spring of 2002. Not long afterward, Bennett and his longtime collaborator Edward Burch put out their debut record The Palace at 4am (Part 1) and longtime fans had a chance to compare the different approaches of the band's two driving forces.

So, with all the hype surrounding Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, how does it hold up to the harsh light of critical scrutiny? Pretty well, actually. The first thing one notices is that, despite the original label's fears and the presence of experimental musician Jim O'Rourke, this album is very melodic, even, dare it be said, commercial. Sure, there are odd noises, off-key keyboard tinkling and strange percussion ensembles mixed in the background of "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart," an epic ballad in the tradition of "Misunderstood," but they're just spice added to an already-tasty batter. The core of each of these eleven tracks is the same as it's always been: frontman Jeff Tweedy's catchy, emotionally forthright tunes. The sweetly wistful "Heavy Metal Drummer," the lazily grooving "I'm the Man Who Loves You" and the poetic folk rocker "Jesus, etc." ("You were right about the stars/Each one is a setting sun") would be great, universally-appealing songs if they were played on a plastic ukulele, so the addition of skronky guitar solos or the word "fuck" hardly damages their commercial potential. Tweedy's lyrics have taken a more impressionistic cast ("Sleeping eye sockets/Baby suck your thumb/I'll keep you in a locket/A string I'll never strum," from "Pot Kettle Black"), but he's still singing about the things he always sings about: love, devotion and desire. The sociopolitical tone poem "Ashes of American Flags" freely admits "I know I would die/If I could come back new." A metaphor for Wilco itself, perhaps? Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is easily the band's best, most accomplished album since its debut.

The instrumental and melodic talents of Jay Bennett had a strong hand in the sound of Foxtrot, but apparently it wasn't enough to drain his creative juices, as he left Wilco to make his part-time gig with singer/songwriter Edward Burch permanent. The Palace at 4am (Part 1), the first recorded fruits of this pairing, is a smorgasbord of delicious pop confections. Bennett and Burch pile on the melodies, slather on the harmonies, and in general do everything they can to make the cavalcade of hooks front and center in the listener's pleasure zone. The psychedelic Mellotron of "Drinking On Your Dime," the brilliant counterpoint harmonies of "Whispers or Screams" and the woozy synths of "No Church Tonite" emphasize the inherent catchiness of the tunes without being ostentatious about it. The Rockpile rhythms of "Shakin' Sugar" (a Wilco leftover) and orchestral guitars (chunky rhythm, tremolo, 12-string) of "Fireworks" add familiar elements without indulging in clichés. Anyone who suspected Bennett might have objected to Wilco's experimental take on pop need only listen to "Talk to Me," a stunningly straightforward pop tune that contains a banjo solo, followed immediately by...a glockenspiel solo, or the poignant ballad "Little White Cottage," with its sitar 'n' pedal steel call and response. Touches like these would mean little if not applied to songs of real substance, however, and in this area Burch and Bennett deliver. The duo eschews the impressionist approach to its subject matter; romantic relationships take center stage in tunes like "My Darlin'," "Like a Photograph" ("You're like a photograph/You never quite tell the truth") and "It Hurts" (a drawn-out ballad in the Wilco tradition). Bennett and Burch apparently prefer that their messages get out in the most memorable way possible, and The Palace at 4am (Part 1) ends up being unforgettable.

With two excellent records on the shelves from the Wilco camp, fans may wonder at the lost potential: what if Bennett had stayed in the band? How much better would Wilco be? But Wilco is proving itself perfectly capable of making great work without Bennett, and Bennett has found a more sympathetic outlet for his own music. Rather than worry about music unheard, better to celebrate the double-shot of music now available. Michael Toland

For fans of:
Wilco: Sparklehorse, Yo La Tengo, Mercury Rev
Jay Bennett & Edward Burch: Big Star, George Harrison, the Chamber Strings