It may not have the bright pop hooks or tightly-focused songwriting of it's predecessor, 1999's stately Summerteeth, but Wilco's gutsy follow-up, 2002's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, nevertheless succeeds as an arty, atmospheric, and haunting work of fascinating flourishes and expansive experimentation, as well as an intriguing reflection of modern (or is that post-modern) anxiety.
Jeff Tweedy's Stirring Words
An insular and introverted yet universal and relatable sort of anxiety. A kind which, while picking up where Summerteeth left off, is nevertheless toned down (and sometimes deadened altogether) by singer, guitarist, and chief-songwriter Jeff Tweedy and his world-weary and emotionally detached delivery. Something which, while straining the connection between song and listener, is oddly fitting.
Especially when taking Tweedy's words into consideration. Words which at times seem to define free-association and stream-of-consciousness, as they do on the resigned and slightly unnerving opener "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart", where Tweedy shrugs off such lines as "I want to hold you in the Bible-black predawn, you're quite a quiet domino, carry me now".
Which are just a couple of many lines that make the album's open-hearted lyrical revelations that much more powerful, as they do with those found in the near-gothic gloom and eeriness of "Radio Cure". A ghostly tune that opens with a subtly aching confession in "Cheer up honey, I hope you can, there is something wrong with me". Lyrics like these are what make YHF the stirring portrait of loneliness and restlessness it is.
Wilco's Avant-Garde Sound On Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
And the talented Chicago, Illinois band's (filled-out by multi-instrumentalist Jay Bennett, bassist John Stirratt, and drummer Ken Coomer, along with producer Jim O'Rourke) chilly and unease-inspiring music is what fleshes them out to the fullest. Music that is always just teetering on the edge of collapse into sheer sonic chaos (which it certainly does at some points).
Some of the finest examples of which (the epic and cathartic climax to the aforementioned "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart", and the cyclonic gusts of bright, white noise that morphs the spectral "Ashes Of American Flags" into the paradoxically catchy and sunny "Heavy Metal Drummer") are where the album hits the hardest and leaves it's most lasting impressions.
Which is really ironic, given Wilco's proven strengths as pop-hook crafters, but there just is no getting around the fact that when the band reels their adventurous spirits in for more structured and conventional numbers ("War On War", "I'm The Man Who Loves You"), the results never hit the memorable heights of such classics as A.M.'s "Box Full Of Letters" or Being There's "Monday" as strong as they are.
In Closing
It makes sense though, given the alienated and alienating lyrics, the tense music, and the purposely disorienting production. Like it's radio code-word title, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is the sound of a lonely call seeking connection, if not just plain contact. And the album works best when it reflects all the static and ghostly cross-chatter that emerges as Tweedy and co. dial from one frequency to another.
Jacob Goguen - Jacob Goguen is a professional journalist with an extensive background in the arts. He has acted in short films, as well as with Young ...
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