Hear Jeff Tweedy Unveil New Material at Mountain Jam
As reported last week, Jeff Tweedy will release his new solo album, Sukierae, on September 16th, as part of his TWEEDY project alongside 18-year-old son, Spencer. Fans of the Wilco frontman have now received what appears to be a early taste of the LP.
Last weekend, Tweedy, backed by his friends and family band (including Spencer) performed a career-spanning set at New York’s Mountain Jam Festival, unveiling what appears to be a large swath of his new LP. Check out Tweedy’s entire Mountain Jam performance below.
While Tweedy’s previously released first single “I’ll Sing It”, all slathered guitar and distant vocals, as well as the only new track confirmed on the 20-track album, did not make into his Mountain Jam set, the Chicago musician did debut 12 previously unheard tracks.
Sonically, the material was slow-rolling and acoustic, a sound reminiscent of Wilco’s more meditative fan favorite and Tweedy live staple “Jesus, Etc.” Highlights of Saturday’s set include contemplative opener “Down From Above” (“It’s only love until it goes when the last book is written/and the last song is sung/ the last beginning has begun”), the country-tinged “Flowering” and reverb-drenched “Slow Love.”
Tweedy’s Mountain Jam performance follows his tour-opening gig at Detroit’s Masonic Temple last Thursday night, where the singer-songwriter debuted 14 never-before-heard cuts, something he told the crowd was “a colossally ignorant thing to do.”
Sukierae is Tweedy’s first full-length since Wilco’s last outing, 2011’s The Whole Love. Tweedy continues his summer tour Tuesday in Washington D.C., followed by gigs at Nashville’s famed Ryman Auditorium and the Newport Folk Festival in the coming weeks.