In 2002, Wilco's "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" created the kind of buzz that only a serious record company push could produce.
The problem was, however, the band had no record company behind it. When the group handed the tracks over, its label, Reprise, balked at releasing it.
Wilco and Reprise parted ways, and the group posted the album on its Web site, starting a downloading feeding frenzy that turned into a bidding war for the hard copy release. Nonesuch Records won out and distributed the disc to critical and commercial acclaim.
So how do you follow a beautiful disaster and career highlight like "Foxtrot"? Wilco front man Jeff Tweedy started by parting ways with most of his band (as was seen in the documentary "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart") and ended by checking into treatment for addiction to prescription pills this spring.
Thankfully, he also recorded the worthy follow-up, "A Ghost Is Born," sometime in between.
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Tweedy has always thrived with a collaborative foil. In Uncle Tupelo, it was fellow singer/guitarist Jay Farrar. For the first four Wilco albums, it was multi-instrumentalist Jay Bennett.
Now Tweedy turns to Sonic Youth sideman, producer Jim O'Rourke, who mixed "Foxtrot."
The duo shares an interest in song dynamics, shifting from near silence to roaring feedback with the flick of a switch.
"At Least That's What You Said" opens the disc with a whisper, hinting at domestic discord, then plunges into an explosive blast of frenetic guitar work and drum fills that would spook Crazy Horse.
Tweedy again channels Neil Young on "Hell Is Chrome" with a solo so restrained he displays as much tension with what he plays as what he doesn't.
Even when Tweedy and O'Rourke aren't playing with volume and feedback, they're experimenting with styles and other sounds. The synthesized beat of the 10-minute "Spiders (Kidsmoke)" sounds like Tweedy is trying to exorcise the ghost of some 1980s teensploitation comedy and "Less Than You Think" ends with 12 minutes of feedback.
While "Foxtrot" had its share of poppy gems, "Ghost" is more ethereal, though still substantial. "Wishful Thinking" and "Muzzle of Bees" are gorgeous bits of ephemeral music while "I'm a Wheel" and "The Late Greats" hold the rock line.
Where "Ghosts" sounds dreamy, O'Rourke gives Sonic Youth the scream treatment the group is accustomed to. For more than 20 years, the New York-based band has churned out dissonant, feedback drenched treatises at the intersection of art, rock and society.
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As the group grows older (bassist/singer/sex symbol Kim Gordon is now 51), their screeds have become more melodic, yet just as taut. "Sonic Nurse" may be the most mellow yet, but don't expect good bedside manner from the band that recorded "Confusion Is Sex."
"Dripping Dream" opens with the customary wail of feedback, but shifts into a tight exploration of a groove, suggesting Sonic Youth is the first ever jam grunge band. Likewise, "I Love You Golden Blue" breaks from its screeching into Gordon's spookily seductive whisper.
The group has been playing with tunings and other sounds for so long it can no longer be considered experimenting. So when Thurston Moore unwinds the gently jaunty "Peace Attack," the final frontier for the veterans seem to be where so many other bands start out.
Readers can reach Forum reporter John Lamb at (701) 241-5533
"Sonic Nurse"
Sonic Youth
Geffen Records
Three out of four stars
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"A Ghost is Born"
Wilco
Nonesuch Records
Three and a half out of four stars
