Wilco - Cruel Country

Wilco embraces country roots on 2022 release Cruel Country

Cruel Country is an album title that cuts two ways, the "country" referring either to a nation or a musical genre. The duality is deliberate, as Wilco are grappling not only with America's tumultuous present but also the band's fraught legacy with country music, writes Pitchfork.

"There have been elements of Country Music in everything we've ever done," bandleader Jeff Tweedy writes. "We've never been particularly comfortable with accepting that definition, the idea that I was making Country Music. But now, having been around the block a few times, we're finding it exhilarating to free ourselves within the form, and embrace the simple limitation of calling the music we're making 'Country.'"

Wilco's Cruel Country is its universally-acclaimed 12th studio album which is now available for the first time on vinyl. The LP gatefold package is created by Grammy-winning designer Lawrence Azerrad, and includes band photos and a unique panel of postcards. Originally released in May 2022 digitally, lead tracks "Falling Apart (Right Now)" and "Tired Of Taking It Out On You" have already become staples on non-commercial, public and AAA radio.

Jon Pareles in The New York Times wrote: "Wilco makes an understated magnum opus. Its tone is naturalistic and understated; the album was recorded largely with Wilco playing live in the studio as a six-man band, quietly savoring the chance to make music together after pandemic isolation."

Jon Dolan in Rolling Stone wrote: "Their latest is a beautifully rootsy album with a broken sense of patriotic concern." Four stars.