Wilco
Sky Blue Sky
(Nonesuch)

Change, it seems, has been the one consistent component in the continuing adventure of Wilco. Following the recording of the band's last studio album, 2004's A Ghost Is Born, front man Jeff Tweedy went through a major personal renewal, kicking pills and panic attacks, while the group endured another lineup shift, adding guitarist Nels Cline and multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone. Since then, the group has toured heavily and released a live album, and Tweedy has put out a solo acoustic DVD. Many expected that the new Wilco effort would further explore the artier direction of Ghost - perhaps owing to Cline's impressive avant-garde background - but the record is actually something of a stylistic left turn. It'd be easy to characterize it as a throwback to the sound of early roots-oriented Wilco platters like A.M. and Being There, but the disc is actually closer in spirit to the more recent work of Tweedy's side band, Loose Fur. Milking the sweet sounds of '70s FM pop - everything from the blues-tinged balladry of Badfinger to the knowing jazzy grooves of Steely Dan - Sky Blue Sky is an inviting, almost-soothing sonic reprieve from the fractured, frazzled music and lyrics of Ghost. Having fashioned an album of subtle, understated beauty, Tweedy is sure to be castigated by a certain segment of fans and critics for abandoning the vaulting musical ambition of his last few releases. With the exception of one or two tracks, this is a fairly straight set of singer-songwriter folk tunes that manages to incorporate influences as disparate as Miles Davis, Harry Nilsson, midperiod Pink Floyd, and Abbey Road-era Beatles. Lyrically, Tweedy sharpens his recent crypto-poetic word exercises into linear narratives that are more personal in nature - and more potent for their introspection. Frequently soulful, occasionally inspired, and always enjoyable, Sky Blue Sky isn't a major musical statement, but that doesn't make it any less worthwhile a listen.  - B.M.