Cousin (album)

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Cousin
A colorful image of foliage with icicles hanging off of it
Studio album by
Wilco
ReleasedSeptember 29, 2023 (2023-09-29)
RecordedJanuary 2019 – May 2023[1]
StudioThe Loft, Chicago, Illinois, United States[1]
Genre
Length42:54
LanguageEnglish
LabeldBpm
ProducerCate Le Bon
Wilco chronology
Cruel Country
(2022) 		Cousin
(2023)

“There aren’t a whole lot of white male rock groups that feel vibrant in any way to me. I don’t know what they’re singing about. I don’t know what they’re angry about. I don’t know what they care about other than maintaining and protecting their status, and I don’t want that to be the way Wilco looks at itself. It felt really right to ask a woman to produce a record for us because it was an honest way to surrender some of those assumptions.”

—Vocalist Jeff Tweedy on working with Cate Le Bon to produce Cousin[5]

Cousin is the thirteenth studio album from American indie rock band Wilco, released on September 29, 2023 through dBpm Records. The album was produced by Cate Le Bon, representing the first time the band used an outside producer in over a decade since 2009's Wilco (The Album), and was preceded by two singles: "Evicted"[1] and the title track.[6] The album has received positive reviews from critics.

Recording and release[edit]

Recording for Cousin came at a time of particular productivity for Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy.[7] Cate Le Bon encouraged the band against live in-studio recording and instead recorded instruments individually, growing from 2019 demos recorded by Tweedy.[8] Band members would play together and then split up to focus on their individual instruments,[7] for instance, Le Bon worked with multi-instrumentalist Nels Cline for two days recording solo parts.[9] Tweedy asked her to produce the album after the two met at a live performance, in spite of having no intention of bringing in an outside producer.[10] Once she agreed, the duo discussed over the phone what the sound would be for the album and traded digital files of several dozen songs before going into the studio.[11] Out of thirtysomething tracks, Le Bon narrowed it down to 14 to work on, with "Ten Dead" additionally written during the recording sessions.[12] During recording, Le Bon had extensive thoughts on how each instrument and musician should sound and the band members were deferential to her preferences.[13] Wilco also recorded and released Cruel Country in 2022 in order to take more time to finish the music on Cousin.[14] Additionally, Le Bon's band recorded in Wilco's Loft studio and she formed a friendship with Tweedy.[15]

Reception[edit]

Editors at AnyDecentMusic? aggregated 14 reviews to score this release a 7.8 out of 10.[16] According to the review aggregator Metacritic, Cousin received "universal acclaim" based on a weighted average score of 82 out of 100 from 14 critic scores.[17]

Editors at AllMusic rated this album 4 out of 5 stars, with critic Mark Deming writing "Cousin represents a genuine shift for the band as they've ceded some control over their recording process for a change", resulting in "a powerful, affecting work that once again shows how many great things Wilco can do".[18] Scott Bauer of the Associated Press called this "a deeply layered, musically rich record" where "the soundscape is so thick it feels like an aural impressionist painting, with layer upon layer of music melded together to create a sonic image".[19] In the Indie Basement column at BrooklynVegan, Bill Pearis chose this as one of the best albums of the week, telling readers who have not listened to Wilco in years that this is a reason to check in on their new work.[20] Exclaim!' Clay Geddert rated this album an 8 out of 10 for showing "a fresh perspective on what their sound could be".[21] Ryan Dillon of Glide Magazine praised this music for "Wilco’s most complex and evocative album in years" and blending artsy or avant-garde tendencies with accessible songwriting[22] and he chose "Sunlight Ends" as one of the best songs of the week, calling it "a moody example of the band’s experimentation, an electronic drum pattern sets the tone for dancing guitar strings and sinfully sweet vocals".[23]

The Guardian's Alexis Petridis proclaimed Cousin album of the week and gave it 4 out of 5 stars, stating that "no one comes to a Wilco album looking for carefree emotional uplift, but the anxieties expressed here feel different, very much the product of a writer 20 years older than the author of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot".[24] In Hot Press, John Walshe gave this album an 8 out of 10, noting that this period of the band's sound "eschews the punkier elements of their DNA in favour of a more laid-back, countrified tone" and this mid-tempo tone results in "another stellar album from a band who seem permanently at the peak of their powers.".[25] Ed Power of Irish Examiner gave Cousin 4 out of 5 stars, characterizing the music: "it’s catchy and often very warm but full of the avant-garde wrinkles that have led critics to herald the Chicago outfit America’s answer to Radiohead".[26] Lauren Murphy of The Irish Times gave the same score, calling it "Wilco’s most progressive album in years, dappled with a sumptuous melancholic hue that drapes itself over songs such as Ten Dead and the sombre, minor chord swoon of Levee".[27] A feature from Louder Sound saw Sam Walton calling this the best Wilco album since 2004's A Ghost Is Born and the choice to enlist Le Bon "the most elegant producer-led transformation of the past 25 years".[28]

John Mulvey of Mojo rated Cousin 4 out of 5 stars, praising Le Bon as "a trusted interloper who can unlock new dimensions for this most reliable but restless of contemporary American bands".[29] In The New Zealand Herald, Graham Reid called Cousin "a gently deft approach to the experimentation that they’ve explored".[30] Writing for No Depression, Kyle Peterson calling this release not "a return to the grand statements of the late 1990s and early 2000s so much as a distinctive entry that still fits comfortably in the band’s latter-day output".[31] In Paste, Eric R. Danton expressed disappointment with this album, calling it "underwhelming" in spite of select tracks that are success.[32] Writing for Pitchfork, Zach Schonfeld scored Cousin a 7.1 out of 10 for recalling the earlier experimental period of the band's history and writes that it and previous album Cruel Country "both peer out at a country infected with hypocrisy and moral rot";[33] editors at the site shortlisted this as one of the best albums of the week.[34] At PopMatters, John Garratt expressed that the band both experimented but also "played it too safe" on Cousin, stating that, "when Wilco does get around to the surprising elements in Cousin, they pull them off with so much subtlety that you might miss them entirely".[35]

Rolling Stone featured a favorable review from Will Hermes, where the critic praised the production and how "part of Wilco’s magic is its mutability... and how artfully it always cleaves to Tweedy’s narrative voice, one of the most companionable in modern song, even when he’s channeling flawed characters, which he frequently is".[4] In Slant Magazine, Thomas Bedenbaugh credited Le Bon for this album having a more experimental style than previous Wilco releases and rated Cousin 3.5 out of 5 stars.[36] Michael Gallucci of Ultimate Classic Rock called this work an "aural tour de force", continuing that "the music, drifting among the avant-pop playground Wilco has spent the past two decades traversing, suits the occasionally despairing, often hopeful mood".[37] In Uncut, Tom Pinnock scored Cousin 4.5 out of 5 stars, praising the production and writing that this music is "deliciously weird and intoxicatingly angular, but it still sounds like a Wilco album, not a Le Bon collaboration".[3] Michael James Hall of Under the Radar scored this work an 8.5 out of 10, calling it "a complex and clever album".[38] In the Wall Street Journal, Mark Richardson emphasized the continuity this album has with Wilco's previous work, writing that the production "seems to lend a welcome tint rather than change Wilco’s palette" and calls this the best album by the band since "at least 2015's Star Wars".[39]

Cousin in best-of lists
Outlet Listing Rank
AllMusic[40] Favorite Alternative & Indie Albums —
Irish Independent[41] The best international albums of 2023 11
Mojo[42] Mojo's Top 75 Albums of 2023 11
El País[43] The best music albums of 2023 11
Rolling Stone[44] The 100 Best Albums of 2023 73
Rolling Stone[45] The 40 Best Indie-Rock Albums of 2023 —
Uncut[46] Uncut's Top 75 Albums of 2023 3
Under the Radar[47] Under the Radar's Top 100 Albums of 2023 15

Ultimate Classic Rock named "Evicted" the 18th best rock song of the year.[48] Uncut editor Michael Bonner included this album on his list of the best of the year.[49]

Track listing[edit]

All songs written by Jeff Tweedy

  1. "Infinite Surprise" – 5:43
  2. "Ten Dead" – 3:55
  3. "Levee" – 4:11
  4. "Evicted" – 3:29
  5. "Sunlight Ends" – 3:53
  6. "A Bowl and a Pudding" – 4:03
  7. "Cousin" – 4:11
  8. "Pittsburgh" – 5:14
  9. "Soldier Child" – 4:17
  10. "Meant to Be" – 3:55

Personnel[edit]

Wilco

Additional personnel

  • Ashwin Deepankar – technician
  • Jared Dottorelli – technician
  • Mark Greenberg – assistant engineering
  • Euan Hinshelwood – saxophone
  • Cate Le Bon – bass guitar, piano, synthesizer, backing vocals, production
  • Bob Ludwig – mastering
  • Azuma Makoto – artwork
  • Tom Schick – engineering, mixing additional production
  • Shiinoki Shunsuke – photography
  • Spencer Tweedy – percussion, backing vocals
  • Alexa Viscius – packaging design

Charts[edit]

Chart performance for Cousin
Chart (2023) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[50] 60
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[51] 60
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[52] 25
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[53] 77
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[54] 36
French Albums (SNEP)[55] 189
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[56] 21
Irish Albums (IRMA)[57] 51
Scottish Albums (OCC)[58] 11
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[59] 21
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[60] 18
UK Albums (OCC)[61] 65
US Billboard 200[62] 65

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Ruiz, Matthew Ismael (August 1, 2023). "Wilco Announce New Album Cousin, Share New Song "Evicted"". News. Pitchfork. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  2. ^ Bonner, Michael (August 10, 2023). "Wilco, Pretenders, Sparklehorse, Jaimie Branch, PG Six and more: welcome to this month's free Uncut CD". Uncut. ISSN 1368-0722. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Pinncok, Tom (September 29, 2023). "Wilco – Cousin". Reviews > Albums. Uncut. ISSN 1368-0722. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Hermes, Will (September 28, 2023). "Wilco's Cousin Review". Music > Album Reviews. Rolling Stone. ISSN 0035-791X. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  5. ^ Johnathan, Cohen (September 27, 2023). "A Ghost, Reborn: Wilco Pushes Forward On Weird, Beautiful 'Cousin'". Features. Spin. ISSN 0886-3032. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  6. ^ Ruiz, Matthew Ismael (September 14, 2023). "Wilco Share New Song "Cousin"". News. Pitchfork. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  7. ^ a b Corr, Alan (September 29, 2023). "Nels Cline: meet the man who speaks fluent riff". Entertainment. RTÉ. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
  8. ^ Sculley, Alan (September 21, 2023). "Wilco Reflect on their Upcoming Album 'Cousin'". Arts & Culture. Salt Lake Magazine. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  9. ^ Sculley, Alan (October 11, 2023). "Wilco Unveils New Album at the Pabst Theater". Music/Music Features/. The Shepherd Express. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  10. ^ Barr, Natalia (September 29, 2023). "The Surprising Song That Changed Jeff Tweedy's Life". Style. Wall Street Journal. ISSN 1042-9840. OCLC 781541372. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
  11. ^ Bonner, Michael (September 22, 2023). ""A beautiful community": Cate Le Bon on Wilco". Features > Blogs. Uncut. ISSN 1368-0722. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  12. ^ Budnick, Dean (December 8, 2023). "Jeff Tweedy: Worlds of Wonder". Relix. ISSN 0146-3489. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  13. ^ Russell, Will (October 11, 2023). "Wilco Drummer Glenn Kotche: "We try to mix it up, record to record, stylistically, just to make it more interesting"". Opinion. Hot Press. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  14. ^ Mitchell, Matt (October 6, 2023). "Wilco: Cousins to the World". Music > Features > Wilco. Paste. ISSN 1540-3106. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  15. ^ Handley, Gen (September 28, 2023). "Wilco Are Still Here Because They "Were Willing to Risk Things"". Music. Exclaim!. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  16. ^ "Cousin by Wilco reviews | AnyDecentMusic". AnyDecentMusic?. n.d. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
  17. ^ "Cousin by Wilco Reviews and Tracks – Metacritic". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. n.d. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
  18. ^ Deming, Mark (n.d.). "Wilco – Cousin". AllMusic. RhythmOne. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
  19. ^ Bauer, Scott (September 25, 2023). "Music Review: Breathy, mid-tempo Wilco returns for 'Cousin,' which is heavy on the slower tracks". Entertainment. Associated Press. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
  20. ^ Pearis, Bill (September 29, 2023). "Album reviews: Wilco, Blonde Redhead, Don Letts, Melenas, more". Indie Basement. BrooklyVegan. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
  21. ^ Geddert, Clay (September 26, 2023). "Wilco Arrive on New Shores with 'Cousin'". Music. Exclaim!. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  22. ^ Dillon, Ryan (September 26, 2023). "Wilco Goes Complex & Evocative On Courageous 'Cousin'". Album Reviews. Glide Magazine. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  23. ^ Dillon, Ryan (September 29, 2023). "Blonde Redhead, Animal Collective, Wilco, Steven Wilson, Slow Pulp & More". Caustic Commentary. Glide Magazine. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
  24. ^ Petridis, Alexis (September 28, 2023). "Wilco: Cousin review – a band rediscovering their experimental side". Music. The Guardian. ISSN 1756-3224. OCLC 60623878. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  25. ^ Walshe, John (September 29, 2023). "Album Review: Wilco, Cousin". Opinion. Hot Press. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
  26. ^ Power, Ed (September 29, 2023). "Album review: Cousin, by Wilco, has Jeff Tweedy and co in fine form". Lifestyle. Irish Examiner. ISSN 1393-9564. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
  27. ^ Murphy, Lauren (September 29, 2023). "Wilco: Cousin – a progressive album dappled with a sumptuous melancholic hue". Music. The Irish Times. ISSN 0791-5144. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
  28. ^ "Wilco and Cate Le Bon on working together: "There was no way Cate's dad would let her say no!"". In Conversation. Louder Sound. No. 161. October 3, 2023. ISSN 1464-7834. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  29. ^ Mulvey, John (September 28, 2023). "Wilco Cousin Reviewed". Articles | New Music. Mojo. ISSN 1351-0193. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  30. ^ Reid, Graham (October 9, 2023). "Reviews: New albums from US alt-rock bands Wilco and the National". The Listener / Entertainment. New Zealand Herald. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  31. ^ Peterson, Kyle (September 27, 2023). "Wilco Gets Cozily Avant-Garde on Cate Le Bon-Produced 'Cousin'". Reviews. No Depression. ISSN 1088-4971. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  32. ^ Danton, Eric R. (September 28, 2023). "Wilco Fall Short of Their Best on Cousin". Music > Reviews > Wilco. Paste. ISSN 1540-3106. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  33. ^ Schonfeld, Zach (September 28, 2023). "Wilco: Cousin Album Review". Albums. Pitchfork. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  34. ^ Bloom, Madison; Minsker, Evan; Monroe, Jazz; Ruiz, Matthew Ismael (September 29, 2023). "9 New Albums You Should Listen to Now: Oneohtrix Point Never, Wilco, and More". News. Pitchfork. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
  35. ^ Garratt, John (September 28, 2023). "Wilco Play It Too Safe on 'Cousin'". Reviews. PopMatters. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  36. ^ Bedenbaugh, Tom (September 25, 2023). "Wilco 'Cousin' Review: A Potent Shot in the Dark That Mostly Pays Off". Music. Slant Magazine. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
  37. ^ Gallucci, Michael (September 26, 2023). "Wilco, 'Cousin': Album Review". Reviews. Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  38. ^ Hall, Michael James (September 28, 2023). "Wilco Cousin (dBpm)". Music. Under the Radar. ISSN 1553-2305. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  39. ^ Richardson, Mark (October 2, 2023). "'Cousin' by Wilco Review: A Close Relative to the Band's Other Discs". Arts & Culture | Music | Music Review. Wall Street Journal. ISSN 1042-9840. OCLC 781541372. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  40. ^ "Favorite Alternative & Indie Albums". AllMusic. RhythmOne. n.d. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  41. ^ Meagher, John (December 8, 2023). "Ranked: The best international albums of 2023". Entertainment / Music. Irish Independent. ISSN 0021-1222. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
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  43. ^ Navarro, Fernando (December 24, 2023). "The best music albums of 2023". Music. El País. ISSN 0213-4608. Retrieved December 25, 2023.
  44. ^ "The 100 Best Albums of 2023". Music > Album Reviews. Rolling Stone. November 30, 2023. ISSN 0035-791X. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  45. ^ "The 40 Best Indie-Rock Albums of 2023". Music > Music Lists. Rolling Stone. December 21, 2023. ISSN 0035-791X. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
  46. ^ Sacher, Andrew (November 9, 2023). "Uncut's Top 75 Albums of 2023". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved November 15, 2023. from the original in Uncut, January 2024 (ISSN 1368-0722
  47. ^ "Under the Radar's Top 100 Albums of 2023 Part 1". Lists. Under the Radar. December 23, 2023. ISSN 1553-2305. Retrieved December 25, 2023.
  48. ^ Rapp, Allison (November 29, 2023). "Top 30 Rock Songs of 2023". Ultimate Classic Rock. Townsquare Media. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  49. ^ Bonner, Michael (December 6, 2023). "The Best Albums Of 2023 – the Editor's picks". Features > Blogs. Uncut. ISSN 1368-0722. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  50. ^ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 9 October 2023". The ARIA Report. No. 1753. Australian Recording Industry Association. October 9, 2023. p. 6.
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  52. ^ "Ultratop.be – Wilco – Cousin" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  53. ^ "Ultratop.be – Wilco – Cousin" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  54. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Wilco – Cousin" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
  55. ^ "Top Albums (Week 40, 2023)". Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  56. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Wilco – Cousin" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
  57. ^ "Irish Albums Chart: 6 October 2023". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
  58. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
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  61. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
  62. ^ "Wilco Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 10, 2023.

External links[edit]

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