Wilco — Sky Blue Sky

Remember a few years ago when Wilco were being hailed as "American Radiohead?" Well, those days are gone. In their place we have "good American band, formerly great." It's hard not to generally like Sky Blue Sky because, on a basic level, Wilco are still a solid group, and technically more proficient than ever. But that's the problem. Where before they weren't afraid to climb out on to the 40 nearest ledges to take some chances, now they want to produce sterling, clean alt.country. As evidenced by A Ghost Is Born, they'll now take a good guitar jam over an experiment in sound every time. "Impossible Germany" is the best of 12 tracks that, while pleasant enough, all sound just a bit too tepid. As always, I find it hard to criticize any band who have produced at least four great records, but Sky Blue Sky marks the end of Wilco's best years. At least they're slinking into old age gracefully.

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