Barrowland Ballroom, GlasgowJeff Tweedy’s troupe return after a two-year break, with new songs holding their own among frazzled classics
Two decades ago, Wilco were a band on life support. Their fourth album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, was so emphatically rejected by their label that they streamed it for free on their website – in 2001, a daring move – and subsequently drummed up enough enthusiasm that they were promptly scooped up by another imprint of the same record company. Since then, Jeff Tweedy’s troupe have become one of the US’s most reliable and cherished rock bands, a potent and award-winning combination of roadhouse swagger and arthouse introspection.
After a two-year break – triggered by their drummer Glenn Kotche relocating to Finland so his wife could pursue a Fulbright scholarship – Wilco have returned with an imminent 11th album, the brazenly-titled Ode to Joy, but the six-piece sound so fluid and relaxed it is as if they have never been away. During their furlough, Tweedy published a vivid and bracing memoir, Let’s Go (So We Can Get Back), and perhaps feels like he is done with small talk: with his curls tucked into a dark beanie hat, he limits his audience interactions to the odd wave and a cheery “we’ve got a lot to get through!” during a crammed two-hour set.