Wilco - Wilco (The Album)

I will admit right off at the start: I absolutely love Wilco. Every album they have ever released has been pure gold(even A.M.), and I would even say that Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is one of my top five favorite albums of all time. That said, it was almost pre-determined that I would absolutely love Wilco (The Album), and adore every aspect of it. Luckily, this love is well-earned, as the album is altogether brilliant, fun, emotional, and musically creative.


Kicking off with one of the funnest songs the band has ever written, 'Wilco (The Song)', it sets the tone for a lighter, more accessible release. The song is an ode to fans, as they sing such lines as 'Do you dabble in depression? ...Wilco will love you baby'. It is undoubtedly an enjoyable tune, and could easily end up on a summer mix.

The album continues on with a few more great flowing tunes, 'One Wing' especially being a standout with its great melodies and changes. The song is an especially enjoyable one, and brings us into one of the more interesting cuts, 'Bull Black Nova'. The song was written from the perspective of a man who just killed his girlfriend, and at 5:39, it clocks in as the longest song on the album; that said, it's a captivating song and enough happens to keep you captivated the whole way through. Continuing on, the album goes into 'You and I', a duet with Canadian music sensation Feist. The song is absolutely wonderful as it details the story of two lovers trying to keep their relationship together; it's a personal favorite.

'You Never Know' continues the album, and could quite easily become a hit single for the band. The song almost sounds like a George Harrison tune in how the guitars and piano play off each other, and even in how the melody itself was constructed. Easily the crispest, most accessible cut on the album, it's a whole lot of fun. Continuing on, the album flows into the fantastic 'Country Disappeared', and slows down a bit more for the wonderful 'Solitaire'.

After these tracks comes another solid rock song with 'I'll Fight', where Tweedy opens with 'I'll go, I'll go, I'll go, I'll go for you/I'll fight, I'll fight, I'll fight, I'll fight for you/I'll kill, I'll kill, I'll kill, I'll kill for you/I will, I will, I will'. The song is a good straight forward rock tune, and really balances out the album after the quieter tones of 'Country' and 'Solitaire'.

Following this, the album fades a little bit, going into the somewhat ordinary 'Sonny Feeling' and 'Everlasting Everything'. The songs are far from bad, but following the repetoire the rest of the album contains they almost feel a little bit disappointing. That said, they do bring a decent close to a spectacular album, and as such still need to be given a fair chance. Overall, Wilco (The Album) is probably the best album we have recieved this year so far, and should undoubtedly be picked up on its release date of June 30th, or pre-ordered off the website (https://preorderwilcothealbum.kungfustore.com/). Anyway, be sure you give this fantastic offering by one of today's best bands a listen.

DOWNLOAD:
Wilco (The Song)
You and I
You Never Know
Solitaire

9/10

Marilyn Manson - The High End of Low

Marilyn Manson, about ten years ago, was undoubtedly one of the greatest figures of 'shock-value' entertainment that the world has ever known. Writing songs about such topics as 'Cake and Sodomy' just wasn't all that mainstream or socially accepted back then, and that was quite possibly what made albums like Portrait of an American Family or Antichrist Superstar so goddamn captivating; they were shocking, fresh, new and interesting. Unfortunately, it seems that with his latest effort, Manson felt that he had to reach back to relying more on shock value than actual musicality, and, in this desensitized overexposed world we now inhabit, being shocking is infinitely harder than it used to be.

Fortunately, unlike 2007's absolutely wretched release Eat Me, Drink Me, this album is actually slightly enjoyable. Beginning with the surprisingly catchy 'Devour', you actually get the impression this album could be halfway decent. In fact, despite how incredibly poppy it is, the song is actually one of a couple of standouts of the album, with typical Manson lyrics like 'I can't sleep until I devour you... and I'll love you, if you won't make me starve'. It's a good start to the album, but it doesn't exactly go uphill. The next couple tracks are almost instantly forgettable, with 'Four Rusted Horses' only being an exception because it sounds a little bit different, working with some acoustics and such instead of only the standard distortion that drowns the rest of the album.

Even the first single 'Arma-Goddamn-Motherfuckin-Geddon' is a pretty forgettable track; sure, it's listenable and almost even enjoyable, but I really can't see myself coming back to it ever again. It's a perfect example of failed shock material, consisting of Manson blowing out a multitude of fuck-bombs and a pre-chorus that sings 'first you try to fuck it/then you try to eat it/If it hasn’t learned your name/you better kill it before they see it'. Sure, 15 years ago this would qualify as shocking material, but in a culture where songs like Eminem's latest single '3AM' top the charts, it's just not rebellious anymore. Saying 'fuck' and singing about killing people has been done over and over again, and really is not enough for the lyrical basis of a musically unimpressive single.

The album does pick up from here though, going into quite possibly its most musically interesting track, 'Blank and White', which, while quite poppy, holds a sound that differs from the rest of the album without sounding awkward; it's just an enjoyable and fun song that there really isn't all that much wrong with. However, the next track, 'Running to the Edge of the World', is another story entirely; quite possibly the biggest piece of pop-shit this group has ever produced, 'Running' is a rather awkward mostly acoustic centred tune that, despite strange lyrics like 'If god crossed us we'd take all his drugs/Burn his money and his house down' would really fit much better on a Hinder album.

The rest of the album doesn't really differ much. Songs like 'Wight Spider' are somewhat enjoyable, but you certainally won't be coming back for multiple future listens. Unkillable Monster is kind of a ridiculous ballad, but it's almost enjoyable. We're From America is actually pretty damn bad, and the rest of the album you're just waiting for it to end. It just starts to feel like a waste of time, and by the end of '15', you're actually glad the album is over. It's not that it's a terrible album, it's actually okay for what it is, but unless you're a hardcore Marilyn Manson fan that will stick with him no matter what he releases or a 15 year old girl attempting to become gothic and in need of a soundtrack by which to apply your black lipstick, I would skip this album. For Manson, it's just way too much of a pop album, and while it's leaps and bounds ahead of his last release, it's just not worth it.

Download:

Devour

Blank and White

Wight Spider

5/10