Wilco - Ode to Joy

Jeff Tweedy and Co. follow-up 2016's Schmilco and the singer/songwriter's pair of solo albums, Warm and Warmer, with Wilco's eleventh studio effort, Ode to Joy. Featuring eleven new songs written and produced by Tweedy and recorded by Wilco at The Loft (Chicago, IL) in January 2019, Tweedy and Glenn Kotche were the launching pad from which most of the songs on Ode to Joy materialized – Kotche's percussion propels the music forward while Tweedy's measured words flesh out the cleared paths. As a result, the album is comprised of "really big, big folk songs, these monolithic, brutal structures that these delicate feelings are hung on," notes Tweedy. Across the entire album, drums pound and plod with a steady one – two pulse, meant to mimic the movement of marching – a powerful act utilized on both sides of the authoritarian wall. There's also a sense of comfort that comes with the rhythmic marching sound. Whether our joy is measured by sparks felt when clutching old sweaters to our chests