Jeff Tweedy, lead singer of art-rock band Wilco, brings us a fifth solo album that embodies the best of Americana music: a ray of light shining from a country currently flirting with darkness.
Twilight Override is a triple album: one hour and fifty-two minutes of music. And you know what? There are very few dull moments. It’s like embarking on a musical road trip that makes you want to keep going until the end.
It’s not Wilco, although Tweedy is still Tweedy. Everything is built around his guitars, which are largely acoustic. Then come the synths, vocal harmonies, sometimes violin, a rock impulse, with plenty of space for the music to breathe. The first track, “One Tiny Flower,” plunges us deep into this universe for 6 minutes and 20 seconds.
Jeff Tweedy said that the idea for a triple album came about incidentally during a road trip with his two sons. He played them Sandinista!, a triple album by the British band The Clash. Why not do the same?
Apart from the format, Twilight Override has little to do with Sandinista!, except perhaps for the idea of freedom of format. It is also a family album, as the two sons, Sammy and Spencer, are omnipresent. There are also two singers and multi-instrumentalists, Sima Cunningham and Macie Stewart, who provide brilliant vocal support.
The song “New Orleans” is emblematic of the album. It starts slowly with an acoustic ballad and multiple voices; then sweet synths are added; then multiple guitars follow, dialoguing as they approach dissonance; then the whole mix lands softly.
It brings to mind Dylan, Paul Simon, Tom Petty (the acoustic version), Neil Young and many others. This record represents American songwriting at its best. Tweedy renews the genre in a relevant way.
It tells lots of personal stories, sometimes bizarre, accompanied by indirect tributes to Lou Reed and the Indian pacifist Amar Bharati. We travel through a very special universe. It talks about butterflies, tattoos, friendships and heartbreak.
As you can see, I loved this atmospheric alternative folk music without reservation. Twilight Override gives me a little hope for our neighbours to the south.
