loose fur
s/t
'Loose Fur is more of an alter ego than a side project. Teaming up with Jim O'Rourke and more recent Wilco addition Glenn Kotche has allowed Jeff Tweedy to explore his darker, artier side.
He has let loose and dropped all semblance of otherwise-ostensibly-tight songwriting skills in exchange for fully spread wings and broader sounds. "Loose Fur" is a lot more open than fundamentalist Tweedy fans might expect - but any collaboration with O'Rourke is bound to devour the art rock world whole.
As rumor has it, though, O'Rourke has little to do with the noise/art-guitar sounds that spew forth from end to end of this album. Loose Fur is said to be a different medium for Tweedy's self-expression. This is yet another side that cannot see the light of day in Wilco, no matter how many barriers they break. At this pace, Wilco fans will not be able to keep up with Tweedy's Tourette's-infested fingers.
Oversaturating a market of steadfast fans is only going to cause the solid walls to burst or start leaking. Trying to conquer the world will only make defeat inevitable. They're walking a thin and dangerous line here and someone is bound to fall. Will another clich? get the point across more clearly?
Managing to walk that thin line with confidence, Tweedy's songwriting abilities are fluid but any comparisons to his successful works prior to "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" stop there. This is new, uninhibited, and adventurous.
The slow, dilettante ambience is set out forthrightly by the opening rhythmically sustained pounding of the toms and the quiet roaring background wah of the guitar. Modulating from tonality to atonality at whim, this record is unpredictable. At points, it borders on being overambitious. It rarely hits the mark, but most of the time it hits somewhere close to the target.
O'Rourke and Tweedy are precise but Kotchke throws the accuracy all off. His drumming, when simple, is great. When experimental, a noisy clamor fills the void of what would sound better as silence.
Drums aside, "Loose Fur" shows that this team of veteran musicians still has a lot left up theirs sleeves.