LOVE IS THE KING is the third solo album by indie-rock-alt-country legend Jeff Tweedy, released Friday. But is it good?
I don't think it's any secret by this point that I am quite a big fan of Jeff Tweedy- I've probably said this before but Wilco (the band Tweedy started in the 90's and continues to make music with) was one of the first bands I "got into" thanks firstly to Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, with that and their other less acclaimed releases like Sky Blue Sky, A Ghost is Born and The Whole Love soundtracking a decent portion of my high school and sixth form experience. So coming up on 40 years into a career in music, where does that leave Tweedy now?
Well as I mentioned, this also isn't Tweedy's first solo outing- 2017 and 2019's WARM and WARMER had some good songs but often came off as dull in the middle and a little underdeveloped, but I'm more than happy to say that isn't a problem on this new record. So where does it start?
The first track is the record's title track, and opens with some pretty typical Tweedy acoustic guitar arpeggios flanked by reverby ride hits. The first lyrics we hear on the record come off as train of thought style, as if he's coming up with it on the spot, until he realises the album title and then the lyrics become alot more concise. The second half of the track this guitar solo that becomes gradually louder and more unhinged, vaguely reminiscent of some Nels Cline guitar contributions at points. The track ends in a fairly peaceful and dignified, as if Tweedy and the guitar come to terms with whatever they were so unhappy with eachother about.
Second track OPALINE opens with an immediate country swagger with it's slide guitar and jaunty drum section, and Tweedy's storytelling is immediately evocative here. The chorus is so catchy despite being miserable that by the time the last iteration rolls around you'll probably be singing along to it, and then singing it for a while after too. Track 3 is a sleepy but warm little ballad with this bass and drum section that carry the whole song as well as Jeff's vocals really nicely. The track's lyrics largely focus on death, but the vocals sound accepting rather than fearful. It's another nice track.
GWENDOLYN is immediately more energetic with an instantly memorable guitar part, against Tweedy's resentful vocal performance. The track honestly feels like it could be longer, but that might just be me wanting to exist in the song's sonic universe for a minute or so longer. BAD DAY LATELY starts with some very minimalist percussion and a fragile sounding acoustic guitar which give the track a really muted texture, especially with Jeff's almost whispery singing, before this electric guitar wakes up the whole song. It ducks out again before the end leaving the track where it began, which could symbolise it still being a bad day. Or something.
EVEN I CAN SEE is a pretty love song about Jeff's wife. It's largely written on the same guitar song as the last song, but it's joined by an idyllic sounding electric guitar part between the 2nd and 3rd verse, and the end. It's a song that's just impossible to dislike.
NATURAL DISASTER is a more cynical look at love- Jeff equates falling in love to floods and hurricanes. The tracks is very country and a even a little blues-y at points. I think this track highlight's Spencer Tweedy's incredible drumming- as you may of guessed by his name, Spencer is Jeff's son who plays drums on the record, and his drumming style is deceptively simple- he'll often have this fairly simple and restrained drum rhythm that he'll fill in with lots of little accents and side notes that always perfectly complement the rhythm of the track. Oh, and the rest of the track is good too.
SAVE IT FOR ME is another fairly low-key track, mostly consisting of guitar and drums alongside the vocals. There's even a whistling solo in the middle which is cool. GUESS AGAIN is one of the less exciting tracks on the record. The hook feels kind of gimmick-y and the instrumental doesn't bring alot to the table either. It's fine, there just isn't anything that draws me in like the other tracks have.
TROUBLED is a fairly lethargic cut on the record. The track feels like it's struggling to get out every line, and Tweedy's lyrics match with their general feel of the track well too. The melodies on the track are extremely evocative too. The lyrics are introspective and self loathing and end unresolved on the track which again, adds to it. In my opinion.
The last cut on the record is HALF ASLEEP. The track definitely feels half asleep with a sleepy sort of drum beat and Jeff usual vocal style. The track wraps up the record with a shimmering guitar part on top of Jeff singing "When you need me, I'll be there". It's a really strong way to close the record, and definitely wraps back around to the "love is the king" sort of idea, with the last lines being "There’s no other/There’s no one/But you" which I thought was a great way to end the album.
So overall, I thought the album was really really good- alot better than it had any business being, but I'm not complaining. Overall it's a really strong set of tracks with a good range of common lyrical themes across the album If you're looking for them, and definitely worth checking out. Tune in next week where I'll be dumping on the new gorillaz record for 1000 words!
Comments