Cruel Country

Cruel Country
Studio album by
Wilco
ReleasedMay 27, 2022
StudioThe Loft, Chicago, Illinois, US
GenreAlt-country[1]
Length77:04
LabeldBpm
Producer
Wilco chronology
Ode to Joy
(2019) 		Cruel Country
(2022) 		Cousin
(2023)
Singles from Cruel Country
  1. "Falling Apart (Right Now)"
    Released: April 28, 2022
  2. "Tired of Taking It Out on You"
    Released: May 10, 2022

Cruel Country is the twelfth studio album by the American rock band Wilco, released on May 27, 2022, by dBpm Records. A double album, Cruel Country sees the band fully embracing their country music leanings. It was supported with the release of two singles: "Falling Apart (Right Now)" and "Tired of Taking It Out on You". On release, the album received critical acclaim and debuted at number 190 on the US Billboard 200.

Background

[edit]

Cruel Country features twenty-one songs written by frontman Jeff Tweedy. The double album consists primarily of live takes recorded at The Loft, the band's recording studio in Chicago.[2] The sessions included all six Wilco members together in The Loft for the first time since The Whole Love (2011).[3] With minimal overdubbing, Tweedy compared their recording approach on Cruel Country to that which they last employed on Sky Blue Sky (2007).[2]

Music and themes

[edit]

The album sees the band fully embracing their country music leanings. In a letter published upon the album's announcement, Jeff Tweedy wrote, "I think there's been an assumption over the years that Wilco is some sort of country band. There's a lot of evidence to support that way of thinking about our band because there have been elements of country music in everything we've ever done. But to be honest, we've never been particularly comfortable with accepting that definition of the music we make. With this album though, I'll tell you what, Wilco is digging in and calling it country."[4] Tweedy explained that the genre provided an ideal space to explore United States history: "Because it is the country I love, and because it's country music that I love, I feel a responsibility to investigate their mirrored problematic natures. I believe it's important to challenge our affections for things that are flawed."[2]

Release and promotion

[edit]

Tweedy first announced he was at work on a new Wilco album through his Substack newsletter in February 2022.[5] The album was officially announced on April 28, 2022, with the single "Falling Apart (Right Now)" released the same day.[6] The second single, "Tired of Taking It Out on You", was released on May 10, 2022.[7] The album was released digitally on May 27, 2022, by dBpm Records, with physical releases on CD and LP planned for a later date due to the supply chain crisis.[8] The release of Cruel Country coincided with Wilco's Solid Sound Festival at MASS MoCA, where the band performed the album in its entirety.[6] A double LP and a two-disc CD were finally released by dBpm Records on January 20, 2023.[9]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.9/10[10]
Metacritic83/100[11]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[12]
Clash9/10[13]
Exclaim!8/10[14]
Mojo[15]
NME[16]
The Observer[17]
Paste7.9/10[18]
Pitchfork7.2/10[19]
Rolling Stone[20]
Uncut9/10[21]

Cruel Country was met with critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 83, based on 17 reviews.[11] Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 7.9 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.[10]

Jon Pareles of The New York Times deemed it an "understated magnum opus", writing, "A song can only do so much, and on Cruel Country Wilco offers no grand lesson or master plan, only observations, feelings and enigmas. Many of the album's best moments are wordless ones."[22]

Year-end lists

[edit]
Publication List Rank Ref.
Mojo The 75 Best Albums of 2022
15
[23]
Rolling Stone The 100 Best Albums of 2022
48
[24]
Uncut The Top 75 Albums of the Year
6
[25]

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by Jeff Tweedy

Disc one
No.TitleLength
1."I Am My Mother"2:35
2."Cruel Country"3:26
3."Hints"3:38
4."Ambulance"3:11
5."The Empty Condor"3:53
6."Tonight's the Day"3:26
7."All Across the World"3:42
8."Darkness Is Cheap"3:19
9."Bird Without a Tail/Base of My Skull"5:04
10."Tired of Taking It Out on You"3:36
11."The Universe"3:33
Total length:39:23
Disc two
No.TitleLength
1."Many Worlds"7:52
2."Hearts Hard to Find"3:27
3."Falling Apart (Right Now)"3:16
4."Please Be Wrong"3:01
5."Story to Tell"4:08
6."A Lifetime to Find"4:07
7."Country Song Upside-Down"2:46
8."Mystery Binds"3:08
9."Sad Kind of Way"2:48
10."The Plains"3:08
Total length:37:41

Personnel

[edit]

Wilco

Additional personnel

  • Jennifer Kummer – French horn (tracks 3, 8)
  • Wilco – production
  • Tom Schick – production, engineering, mixing
  • Teddy Morgan – engineering (tracks 3, 8)
  • Mark Greenberg – engineering assistance, album design
  • Bob Ludwig – mastering
  • Lawrence Azerrad – album design
  • Crystal Myers – album design

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for Cruel Country
Chart (2022–2023) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[26] 36
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[27] 42
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[28] 82
Scottish Albums (OCC)[29] 12
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[30] 70
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[31] 25
UK Album Downloads (OCC)[32] 23
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[33] 7
US Billboard 200[34] 190
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[35] 29

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Garratt, John (September 28, 2023). "Wilco Play It Too Safe on 'Cousin'". PopMatters. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Gregory, Allie (April 28, 2022). "Wilco Announce Double Album 'Cruel Country,' Share "Falling Apart (Right Now)"". Exclaim!. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  3. ^ Lavin, Will (April 28, 2022). "Wilco announce new double album, 'Cruel Country'". NME. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  4. ^ Kreps, Daniel (April 28, 2022). "Wilco 'Goes Country' on New Double Album 'Cruel Country'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  5. ^ Krol, Charlotte (February 14, 2022). "Wilco are in the studio "chipping away at a new record"". NME. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  6. ^ a b Corcoran, Nina (April 28, 2022). "Wilco Announce New Album Cruel Country, Share New Song "Falling Apart (Right Now)": Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  7. ^ Blistein, Jon (May 10, 2022). "Wilco Strive for Understanding and Empathy on New Song 'Tired of Taking It Out on You'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  8. ^ "Wilco". wilcoworld.net. Archived from the original on June 2, 2022. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  9. ^ Gilliam, Katherine (October 18, 2022). "Wilco Announce Cruel Country Vinyl For January 2023 Release, Share New Video For "A Lifetime To Find"". music.mxdwn.com. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
  10. ^ a b "Cruel Country by Wilco reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  11. ^ a b "Cruel Country by Wilco Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
  12. ^ Deming, Mark. "Wilco Cruel Country Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  13. ^ Kingsley, Tom (May 27, 2022). "Wilco - Cruel Country". Clash. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
  14. ^ Ritchie, Matthew (May 23, 2022). "Wilco's 'Cruel Country' Is a Murky Reflection of American Identity". Exclaim!. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
  15. ^ Doyle, Tom (July 2022). "Wilco – Cruel Country". Mojo. No. 344. p. 87.
  16. ^ Clarke, Patrick (May 26, 2022). "Wilco – 'Cruel Country' review: a fractured and beguiling portrait of America". NME. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  17. ^ Empire, Kitty (May 29, 2022). "Wilco: Cruel Country review – Jeff Tweedy's state of the nation address". The Observer. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
  18. ^ Salmon, Ben (May 25, 2022). "Wilco Get Back to Basics on Cruel Country". Paste. Retrieved June 1, 2022.
  19. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (May 27, 2022). "Wilco: Cruel Country Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  20. ^ Dolan, Jon (May 27, 2022). "Wilco Get Back to the Roots They Never Had on 'Cruel Country'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  21. ^ Deusner, Stephen (July 2022). "Wilco – Cruel Country". Uncut. No. 302. p. 22.
  22. ^ Pareles, Jon (May 26, 2022). "Wilco Makes an Understated Magnum Opus". The New York Times. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  23. ^ "The 75 Best Albums of 2022". Mojo. No. 350. January 2023. p. 49.
  24. ^ "The 100 Best Albums of 2022". Rolling Stone. December 1, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  25. ^ "The Top 75 Albums of the Year". Uncut. No. 308. January 2023. p. 59.
  26. ^ "Ultratop.be – Wilco – Cruel Country" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
  27. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Wilco – Cruel Country" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
  28. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Wilco – Cruel Country" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
  29. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
  30. ^ "Top 100 Albums Weekly". El portal de Música. Promusicae. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  31. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Wilco – Cruel Country". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
  32. ^ "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
  33. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
  34. ^ "Wilco Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  35. ^ "Wilco Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
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