Cruel Country

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.{{Cite web|last=Gregory|first=Allie|date=April 28, 2022|title=Wilco Announce Double Album 'Cruel Country,' Share "Falling Apart (Right Now)"|url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/wilco_announce_double_album_cruel_country_share_falling_apart_right_now|access-date=April 28, 2022|website=Exclaim!}} The sessions included all six Wilco members together in The Loft for the first time since The Whole Love (2011).{{Cite web|last=Lavin|first=Will|date=April 28, 2022|title=Wilco announce new double album, 'Cruel Country'|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/wilco-announce-new-double-album-cruel-country-3214802|access-date=April 28, 2022|website=NME}} With minimal overdubbing, Tweedy compared their recording approach on Cruel Country to that which they last employed on Sky Blue Sky (2007).

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."{{Cite magazine|last=Kreps|first=Daniel|date=April 28, 2022|title=Wilco 'Goes Country' on New Double Album 'Cruel Country'|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/wilco-new-album-cruel-country-1343736/|access-date=April 28, 2022|magazine=Rolling Stone}} 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."

Tweedy first announced he was at work on a new Wilco album through his newsletter in February 2022.{{Cite web|last=Krol|first=Charlotte|date=February 14, 2022|title=Wilco are in the studio "chipping away at a new record"|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/wilco-are-in-the-studio-chipping-away-at-a-new-record-3161408|access-date=April 28, 2022|website=NME}} The album was officially announced on April 28, 2022, with the single "Falling Apart (Right Now)" released the same day.{{Cite web|last=Corcoran|first=Nina|date=April 28, 2022|title=Wilco Announce New Album Cruel Country, Share New Song "Falling Apart (Right Now)": Listen|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/wilco-announce-new-album-cruel-country-share-new-song-falling-apart-right-now-listen/|access-date=April 28, 2022|website=Pitchfork}} The second single, "Tired of Taking It Out on You", was released on May 10, 2022.{{Cite magazine|last=Blistein|first=Jon|date=May 10, 2022|title=Wilco Strive for Understanding and Empathy on New Song 'Tired of Taking It Out on You'|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/wilco-tired-of-taking-it-out-on-you-song-tour-dates-1351325/|access-date=May 10, 2022|magazine=Rolling Stone}} 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.{{Cite web|title=Wilco|url=https://wilcoworld.net/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602154036/https://wilcoworld.net/|archive-date=June 2, 2022|access-date=June 2, 2022|website=wilcoworld.net}} The release of Cruel Country coincided with Wilco's Solid Sound Festival at MASS MoCA, where the band performed the album in its entirety. A double LP and a two-disc CD were finally released by dBpm Records on January 20, 2023.{{cite web|url=https://music.mxdwn.com/2022/10/18/news/wilco-announce-cruel-country-vinyl-for-january-2023-release-share-new-video-for-a-lifetime-to-find/|title=Wilco Announce Cruel Country Vinyl For January 2023 Release, Share New Video For "A Lifetime To Find"|last=Gilliam|first=Katherine|date=October 18, 2022|website=music.mxdwn.com|access-date=January 28, 2023}}

{{Music ratings

| ADM = 7.9/10{{Cite web|url=http://www.anydecentmusic.com/review/13310/Wilco-Cruel-Country.aspx|title=Cruel Country by Wilco reviews|publisher=AnyDecentMusic?|access-date=June 2, 2022}}

| MC = 83/100{{Cite web|title=Cruel Country by Wilco Reviews and Tracks|url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/cruel-country/wilco|access-date=August 30, 2022|publisher=Metacritic}}

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{rating|4|5}}{{Cite web|last=Deming|first=Mark|title=Wilco Cruel Country Album Reviews, Songs & More|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/cruel-country-mw0003713238|access-date=May 27, 2022|website=AllMusic}}

| rev2 = Clash

| rev2score = 9/10{{Cite web|last=Kingsley|first=Tom|date=May 27, 2022|title=Wilco - Cruel Country|url=https://www.clashmusic.com/reviews/wilco-cruel-country|access-date=May 30, 2022|website=Clash}}

| rev3 = Exclaim!

| rev3score = 8/10{{Cite web|last=Ritchie|first=Matthew|date=May 23, 2022|title=Wilco's 'Cruel Country' Is a Murky Reflection of American Identity|url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/wilco_cruel_country_album_review|access-date=May 30, 2022|website=Exclaim!}}

| rev4 = Mojo

| rev4score = {{rating|4|5}}{{Cite magazine|last=Doyle|first=Tom|date=July 2022|title=Wilco – Cruel Country|magazine=Mojo|issue=344|page=87}}

| rev5 = NME

| rev5score = {{rating|4|5}}{{Cite web|last=Clarke|first=Patrick|date=May 26, 2022|title=Wilco – 'Cruel Country' review: a fractured and beguiling portrait of America|url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/album/wilco-cruel-country-review-3232680|access-date=May 26, 2022|website=NME}}

| rev6 = The Observer

| rev6score = {{rating|4|5}}{{Cite web|last=Empire|first=Kitty|author-link=Kitty Empire|date=May 29, 2022|title=Wilco: Cruel Country review – Jeff Tweedy's state of the nation address|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/may/29/wilco-cruel-country-review-jeff-tweedy-state-of-the-nation-address|access-date=May 30, 2022|website=The Observer}}

| rev7 = Paste

| rev7score = 7.9/10{{Cite web|last=Salmon|first=Ben|date=May 25, 2022|title=Wilco Get Back to Basics on Cruel Country|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/wilco/cruel-country-album-review/|access-date=June 1, 2022|website=Paste}}

| rev8 = Pitchfork

| rev8score = 7.2/10{{Cite web|last=Erlewine|first=Stephen Thomas|author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine|date=May 27, 2022|title=Wilco: Cruel Country Album Review|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/wilco-cruel-country/|access-date=May 27, 2022|website=Pitchfork}}

| rev9 = Rolling Stone

| rev9score = {{rating|4|5}}{{Cite magazine|last=Dolan|first=Jon|date=May 27, 2022|title=Wilco Get Back to the Roots They Never Had on 'Cruel Country'|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/wilco-cruel-country-review-1357151/|access-date=May 27, 2022|magazine=Rolling Stone}}

| rev10 = Uncut

| rev10score = 9/10{{Cite magazine|last=Deusner|first=Stephen|author-link=Stephen Deusner|date=July 2022|title=Wilco – Cruel Country|magazine=Uncut|issue=302|page=22}}

}}

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. Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 7.9 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.

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."{{Cite news|last=Pareles|first=Jon|author-link=Jon Pareles|date=May 26, 2022|title=Wilco Makes an Understated Magnum Opus|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/26/arts/music/wilco-cruel-country-review.html|access-date=May 26, 2022}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Disc one

| all_writing = Jeff Tweedy

| title1 = I Am My Mother

| length1 = 2:35

| title2 = Cruel Country

| length2 = 3:26

| title3 = Hints

| length3 = 3:38

| title4 = Ambulance

| length4 = 3:11

| title5 = The Empty Condor

| length5 = 3:53

| title6 = Tonight's the Day

| length6 = 3:26

| title7 = All Across the World

| length7 = 3:42

| title8 = Darkness Is Cheap

| length8 = 3:19

| title9 = Bird Without a Tail/Base of My Skull

| length9 = 5:04

| title10 = Tired of Taking It Out on You

| length10 = 3:36

| title11 = The Universe

| length11 = 3:33

| total_length = 39:23

| title_width = 75%

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Disc two

| title1 = Many Worlds

| length1 = 7:52

| title2 = Hearts Hard to Find

| length2 = 3:27

| title3 = Falling Apart (Right Now)

| length3 = 3:16

| title4 = Please Be Wrong

| length4 = 3:01

| title5 = Story to Tell

| length5 = 4:08

| title6 = A Lifetime to Find

| length6 = 4:07

| title7 = Country Song Upside-Down

| length7 = 2:46

| title8 = Mystery Binds

| length8 = 3:08

| title9 = Sad Kind of Way

| length9 = 2:48

| title10 = The Plains

| length10 = 3:08

| total_length = 37:41

| title_width = 75%

}}

Wilco

• Jeff Tweedy – vocals, guitar, production, album design
• John Stirratt – bass
• Glenn Kotche – drums
• Mikael Jorgensen – keyboards
• Nels Cline – guitars
• Pat Sansone – guitar, keyboards, arrangement (tracks 3, 8)

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

{{reflist}}

{{Wilco}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:2022 albums

Category:DBpm Records albums

Category:Wilco albums

Category:Albums produced by Jeff Tweedy