Wilco, "Star Wars"

Wilco

“STAR WARS”

dBpm Records

“Star Wars” is Wilco’s shortest album, coming in at a featherweight 33 minutes, nearly the same length as Against Me!’s “Transgender Dysphoria Blues.” And like that album, there’s a wonderful, punkish energy populating most of the songs on “Star Wars.”

Gone are the Grateful Dead-style jammy breakdowns of 10-minute-plus tracks like “One Sunday Morning” or “Spiders (Kidsmoke).” Instead, we get jumpy pop statements like “Random Name Generator” or the fuzzy mid-‘70s guitar groove (courtesy of Nels Cline’s near-peerless guitar work) of “Pickled Ginger.” Aside from the immediate, goofy jolt of “Random Name Generator,” the finest song on “Star Wars” is “More….” Armed with an immediately likable chorus, it’s Jeff Tweedy’s warmest vocal performance since the best moments on “Sky Blue Sky.”

“Star Wars” has the great, carefree attitude that has populated other high-profile free releases, namely Nine Inch Nails’ “The Slip” and the collaborative effort of Chance the Rapper and Donnie Trumpet’s “Surf.” But the most bracing thing “Star Wars” brings to listeners is a whole new set of possibilities for Wilco.

By stripping away their sound and for the most part, getting in and out of a song in about three minutes, Wilco has embraced their punkier roots. And for the first time in about a decade, listeners are now going to wonder what exactly a new Wilco album is going to sound like.

ON TOUR:

Aug. 8 — Les Schwab Amphitheater, Bend; www.bendconcerts.com.

Aug. 9 — McMenamins Edgefield, Troutdale; SOLD OUT; www.edgefieldconcerts.com.

— Sean McCarthy,

PopMatters.com