Wilco — Schmilco ANALYSIS & REVIEW
By: Album Analysis
Tags: Schmilco, Review, Wilco, Analysis, Album

Published 09/24/2016

This is a very mature and unique album. It has strong roots in folk and overall timelessness that can be enjoyed by older generations, as well as a mix of unconventional forms that the younger generation can be drawn towards. In finding a mature and developed sound, the first thing that seems to disappear is attention to melody. While this album did have a few great lines from time to time, melody was the element that I was generally left wanting more of. Some might say that this is partly due to Jeff Tweedy’s signature voice that doesn’t necessarily exude melodic brilliance. I don’t think that’s the case. I will discuss Tweedy’s voice in greater depth later in the review, but his singing voice doesn’t play a role in the melodies chosen for his songs.

I know this because of the variety of different melodies we get in Schmilco. While it’s easy to view them all as being very similar and “Wilco-like”, there is actually quite a bit of variance and change from song to song. Sometimes this change is for the better, and sometimes not so much. I would describe the melodies of “Normal American Kids”, “Happiness”, and “Shrug and Destroy” to have the most genuine Wilco quality to it without much tampering being done. These melodies use very minimal range, lots of repetition, simplicity, and a down-to-earth feel that many listeners love. Sure, there’s more room for intrigue, but it fits in very well and completes the song without leaving behind any void.

Other songs on this album such as “If I Ever Were A Child”, “Someone To Lose”, and “We Aren’t The World (Safety Girl)” keeps that same melodic quality but adds a bit more height and importance, with the result being more memorable choruses. “Cry All Day” and “Just Say Goodbye” are at the peak of this, with melodies that are both down-to-earth and truly exciting. If the same importance was given to the melodies on the other half of the album, there would have been much more intrigue. If the melody for “Quarters” just had more energy and nuance, it could’ve been one of the best songs of the year (it was still my favorite song of the album). The kernels of nice melodies were almost always present; they were simply buried within the full texture. When they came out, they were successful. There wasn’t too much missing on this album as a whole, but I would’ve liked to hear melody take on a more leadership role.

This album is a true testament that folk rock is not as easy as one may think. You can’t simply play the only three chords you know on an acoustic guitar, pair it with some life experience, and call it quality music right away. Wilco dodge that stereotype throughout this album. Reliance on a beautiful acoustic guitar doesn’t mean the harmonies suddenly become unimportant, and Wilco proves that with some truly brilliant chord progressions. “Quarters” is one of the most harmonically creative songs I have ever heard. For a song with such slow harmonic rhythm, it delivers incredible surprises at every turn and still goes where your ear knew it wanted to go. Songs such as “Normal American Kids”, “Nope”, “Happiness”, and “Shrug and Destroy” all have cool, unique harmonies that drive the form and give the song worth. Most of those songs may have only had a three-chord progression going, but they were so eventful and colorful that the music never lost its shape. Harmony is indeed what gave this album a definite shape.

The most unfortunate thing about this album, and indeed what prevented Schmilco from obtaining a “solid” status, was the three songs that did not live up to the rest of the album harmonically. “Cry All Day”, “Common Sense” and “Someone To Lose” lacked the sense of forward progression and meaningful color in their harmonies that the rest of the songs had. While “Cry All Day” had harmony that worked well in the context despite its little creativity, the other two songs had harmonies that actually detracted from the music. The slow harmonic rhythms worked well most every time, but they came off as awkward in “Common Sense” and “Someone To Lose”. Sometimes you swing and miss, which is certainly okay. This was still the most impressive musical element on the album. Due to what was around them and what could have been, though, these swings and misses proved more costly to me than they should have for Schmilco.

I can best describe the timbre of this album as being mild-mannered and consistent. There is just enough interesting background additions to blend in with the dominant acoustic guitar and voice to provide enough build and keep the sound from being too dull. I especially enjoyed how the electric guitar was used; it came in with a small and soft presence that never overpowered and complimented the acoustic guitar quite well. Percussion also played a significantly effective role in a few songs, such as “Common Sense” and “Just Say Goodbye”.

The underlying instruments also provided nice countermelodies in many songs, which made up for the lack of a strong primary melody at times. Tweedy’s vocals were at best when he was in a higher register, like in the song “Nope”, rather than “Normal American Kids” where he was in a low register. Not only does the higher register provide energy that this album certainly needed, but that range was also more prone to more motion and had a greater effect on the other parts of the song. Other than that, the timbre of this album was quite secure and unwavering throughout. Aside from the amazing and beautiful timbre of “Quarters”, which received a 45, every score for Timbral Effectiveness was between 30 and 40. Overall, the sound was very warm and home-like with enough surprises to keep the music afloat and fun to listen to.

Since it’s Wilco, it’s going to receive a good influence score regardless. This band has been wonderfully influential and has worked to bridge the gap nicely between the old and the new for 20 years. A new album from them in this day and age is exciting and will deservedly attract attention. While Wilco as a band can be considered a pioneer of new music, this album itself doesn’t necessarily offer anything too new in a musical sense. Consider this as just one of their many albums that depict their genius and creativeness as musicians. I don’t foresee this album to be particularly influential to other contemporary musicians, but I’m sure somewhere down the line Schmilco will be heavily listened to and perceived well.