CD of The Week

Tweedy - Sukierae (dBpm / Anti-)

Wilco main man Jeff Tweedy goes solo this week — sort of — on Sukierae. The album is credited to Tweedy because it’s a family affair, as his oldest son Spencer plays drums on the entire record. Spencer Tweedy has been playing drums for most of his life and actually drummed on the album his dad produced for Gospel legend Mavis Staples. The Tweedys recorded a massive amount of songs at the famous Wilco Loft in Chicago, whittling it down to a double album.

The album title Sukierae is a nickname of Jeff’s wife Sue, whose presence is strongly felt on the record. Not only because it’s a result of her family working together, but because she was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer during the recording process, which greatly affected Jeff’s songwriting and the direction of the new tunes.

The result is a massive, overstuffed mixed bag of a double album, which opens with the bratty 1:33 of “Please Don’t Let Me Be So Misunderstood,” then veers into the stately “High As Hello.” The noisy, 6+ minute “Diamond Light Pt 1” is close to Jeff’s old experimental Loose Fur side project. While the Tweedys played almost every note of Sukierae, good ole Scott McCaughey contributed along the way and the omnipresent ladies of Lucius added some backing vocals here and there. In fact, one of the album’s best songs is the chugging, autobiographical “Low Key” with its melodic, ‘70s-influenced backing harmonies from Lucius. Other highlights include “I’ll Sing It,” which marches forward with Spencer’s drums, and “Fake Fur Coat” feels closer to the folk-rock of Mermaid Avenue, both in structure and Jeff’s singing, than anything Wilco has done in years. Jeff sings in his lower and quieter range throughout Sukierae; there are no real rockers to be unleashed here.

Over an hour’s worth of mostly mellow tunes causes the Tweedy album to overstay its welcome by remaining in one groove too long, though there are certainly some lovely gems along the way. If you were planning to catch Tweedy live here in Philadelphia, I hope you saw them on Sunday night, because they just played the Merriam Theater.
Review by Joey O.