Wilco “Happens” in Spring
Wilco took a break from recording their fifth album over the
Thanksgiving holiday. The group spent two weeks recording in New
York City before returning to its native Chicago to put the
finishing touches on the record, which is slated for a spring
release.
Wilco have recorded thirty songs — including “Wishful
Thinking,” “At Least That’s What You Said,” “Kicking Television,”
“Panthers,” “Hell Is Chrome,” “Muzzle of Bees,” “Theologians” and
“Company in My Back” — that might make the final cut for the
album, which has been tagged with a pair of tentative titles
including “Wilco Happens” and “dBpm.” The latter was also the name
put on a set of improvisational songs the group recorded over the
span of a week in 2002.
Whatever the name, the group is co-producing the effort with Jim
O’Rourke, who engineered Wilco’s last release, 2002’s Yankee
Hotel Foxtrot. And in addition to frontman Jeff Tweedy,
bassist John Stirratt, drummer Glenn Kotche and keyboardist Leroy
Bach, the group has also been recording with keyboardist/laptop
twiddler Mikael Jorgensen, who has toured with Wilco, but didn’t
play on Foxtrot.
“We’ve been recording for so long we’re trying to figure out
what it’s going to be,” Stirratt told Rolling Stone. “It
has elements of that Yankee Hotel Foxtrot dryness and
kraut-rock vibe but [some] sessions have been a lot more of a live
organic, live vocal vibe. We’re just waiting to see what kind of
record pops out.”