Man, Wilco got creepy. Check out those cover photos, all deserted cityscapes and Jeff Tweedy looking like a freshly-shorn mental patient in big-ass horn rims. What happened to the good time boys?
Summer Teeth will still be a lot of fun for anyone who likes great tunes. Tweedy's got a million of 'em, and he delivers them in that delicious voice that gets better the more it falls apart. But there are some disturbing undercurrents here. "She's a Jar" is a touching serenade that comes to an abrupt end on the lyric: "A pretty war/My feelings hid/She begs me not to hit her." "Via Chicago" is similarly nasty - "I dreamed about killing you again last night," Tweedy sings, "And it felt alright to me." Well, isn't that romantic.
Actually, Wilco always have been romantic in the extreme; "I'm Always in Love" celebrates the fact here. And Tweedy's willingness to tumble into the dark sides of obsession, violence, and addiction give Summer Teeth a drama you don't find on many pop records these days.
And yes, this is pop. Not "punktry." Not "y'allternative." Like their peers the Jayhawks, Wilco have outgrown the No Depression sound, and the arrangements on this record owe as much to McCartney and Wilson as Keith Richards and Jim Dickinson. Hell, "I'm Always in Love" could have been a Rick Ocasek production. The roots remain - "We're Just Friends" would have been the killer ballad on any Tupelo album - but Wilco's horizons are broader than ever on Summer Teeth.
So it's power pop and roots rock, eclectic as hell, and full of disturbing psychological signposts. If this record disappears into oblivion like it's threatening to, it'll be this year's Sound of Lies (Jayhawks' 1996 classic, yeah, you missed it). If it finally gets what it deserves in 20 years' time it'll be the Sister Lovers of the '90s. Don't say we didn't warn you.
If you like Wilco, check out:
Wilco Being There
Wilco A.M.
Big Star Sister Lovers
The Jayhawks Sound of Lies
Flying Burrito Brothers Hot Burritos!
Uncle Tupelo Anodyne
The Beach Boys Surf's Up
-- jf
