Wilco Previews New Double-LP ‘Cruel Country’ with “Tired Of Taking It Out On You”; Tour Extended

Jeff Tweedy and Wilco recently announced a new double-album, Cruel Country, which the celebrated indie band will release on May 27.

Here’s “Tired Of Taking It Out On You,” a new track shared from the set on Tuesday:

Words from Tweedy about the track:

“I’ve realized over the years that a lot of the songs I’ve written have worked as reminders to myself to pay attention to various things. Sometimes I think I’ve figured out how the world works in some small way, and I worry I’ll forget it if I don’t sing it back to myself occasionally. This song, I believe, is going to come in handy for just that purpose. I’m a person who needs to stay alert to how I’m treating others when I’m not feeling my best. And now that I mention it, when I look around, it seems like a lot of us have been taking things out on each other when we would be better served striving for understanding and empathy. I’m just trying to be honest with myself, and I guess I’m hoping if this song can help me focus on that, maybe someone else could find it useful in the same way.”

We're calling today "Tired Of Taking It Out On You" Tuesday.

New Wilco song available now! https://t.co/8lRoRaVvXy

Plus expanded tour dates, on sale Friday! pic.twitter.com/vlWQZ0NBTB

— WILCO (@Wilco) May 10, 2022

It’s the second song previewing Cruel Country thus far; here’s “Falling Apart (Right Now)”:

There’s a bit of a country inspiration behind this “exploratory work,” which Tweedy explained in a statement:

“there have been elements of Country music in everything we’ve ever done. We’ve never been particularly comfortable with accepting that definition, the idea that I was making Country music. But now, having been around the block a few times, we’re finding it exhilarating to free ourselves within the form, and embrace the simple limitation of calling the music we’re making Country.”

The “exploratory” nature of the new material’s conception was the result of some particularly loose recording sessions, as you may suspect. Per the release:

Cruel Country is almost entirely composed of live takes, with just a few overdubs. Everyone – Tweedy, John Stirratt, Glenn Kotche, Mikael Jorgensen, Pat Sansone and Nels Cline – was in the room, playing together at The Loft in Chicago, unseparated by baffles. It’s a totally different way of making records that Wilco hasn’t used in years—maybe not since Sky Blue Sky. “It’s a style of recording that forces a band to surrender control and learn to trust each other, along with each others’ imperfections, musical and otherwise.” says Tweedy. “But when it’s working the way it’s supposed to, it feels like gathering around some wild collective instrument, one that requires six sets of hands to play.”

Across the record, there’s a loose conceptual narrative on the history of the United States. There’s almost a chronologically accurate portrait of America that comes out of the way that the record moves. “It isn’t always direct and easy to spot, but there are flashes of clarity,” says Tweedy. “It’s all mixed up and mixed in, the way my personal feelings about America are often woven with all of our deep collective myths. Simply put, people come and problems emerge. Worlds collide. It’s beautiful. And cruel.” Tweedy continues: “The specifics of an American identity begin to blur for me as the record moves toward the light and opens itself up to more cosmic solutions—coping with fear, without belonging to any nation or group other than humanity itself.”

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The track listing:

1. I Am My Mother
2. Cruel Country
3. Hints
4. Ambulance
5. The Empty Condor
6. Tonight’s The Day
7. All Across The World
8. Darkness Is Cheap
9. Bird Without A Tail / Base Of My Skull
10. Tired Of Taking It Out On You
11. The Universe
12. Many Worlds
13. Hearts Hard To Find
14. Falling Apart (Right Now)
15. Please Be Wrong
16. Story To Tell
17. A Lifetime To Find
18. Country Song Upside-down
19. Mystery Binds
20. Sad Kind Of Way
21. The Plains

Stay tuned for more from Cruel Country, and catch Wilco on the road later this year. New dates in bold:

Fri. May 27 – Sun. May 29 – North Adams, MA @ Solid Sound Festival
Sat. Jun. 11 – Oslo, NE @ Loaded Festival
Mon. Jun. 13 – Copenhagen, DK @ Amager Bio
Tue. Jun 14 – Koln, DE @ E-Werk
Thu. Jun 16 – Frankfurt, DE @ Alte Oper
Fri. Jun. 17 – Zeebrugge, BE @ Zeebrugge Beach Festival
Sat. Jun. 18 – Kent, UK @ Black Deer Festival
Mon. Jun. 20 – San Sebastian, ES @ Auditorio del Centro Kursaal
Tue. Jun 21 – Zaragoza, ES @ Parque Grande Jose Antonio Labordeta
Wed. Jun. 22 – Barcelona, ES @ Poble Espanyol
Fri. Jun. 24 – Valencia, ES @ Auditorio Casa de la Cultura de Burjassot
Sat. Jun. 25 – Murcia, ES @ Plaza De Toros Murcia
Mon. Jun. 27 – Madrid, ES @ Noches Del Botanico
Tue. Jun. 28 – Madrid, ES @ Noches Del Botanico
Fri. Jul. 1 – Beuningen, NL @ Down The Rabbit Hole Festival
Fri. Aug. 12 – Cedar Rapids, IA – Paramount Theatre
Sat. Aug. 13 – Bellevue, NE @ Outlandia Festival
Sun. Aug. 14 – Indianapolis, IN @ TCU Amphitheater at White River State Park
Tue. Aug. 16 – Newport, KY @ PromoWest Pavilion Outdoor at OVATION
Wed. Aug. 17 – Interlochen, MI @ Interlochen Center for the Arts/Kresge Auditorium
Thu. Aug. 18 – Toronto, ON @ Budweiser Stage
Sat. Aug. 20 – Montreal, QC @ MTELUS
Sun. Aug. 21 – Cooperstown, NY @ Brewery Ommegang
Tue. Aug. 23 – Lafayette, NY @ Beak and Skiff Apple Orchards
Wed. Aug. 24 – Burlington, VT @ The Green at Shelburne Museum
Thu. Aug. 25 – Gilford, NH @ Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion
Sat. Aug. 27 – New Haven, CT @ Westville Music Bowl
Mon. Aug. 28 – Martha’s Vineyard, MA @ Beach Road Weekend
Fri. Sept. 9 – Madison, WI @ The Sylvee
Sun. Sept. 11 – Fargo, ND @ Fargo Brewing Company Outdoors
Mon. Sept. 12 – Sioux Falls, SD @ Washington Pavilion of Arts and Science
Wed. Sept. 14 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
Thu. Sept. 15 – Santa Fe, NM @ Santa Fe Opera
Sat. Sept. 17 – San Diego, CA @ Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre
Tue. Sept. 20 – Bend, OR @ Hayden Homes Amphitheater
Wed. Sept. 21 – Vancouver, BC @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre
Fri. Sept. 23 – Calgary, AB @ Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
Sat. Sept. 24 – Bozeman, MT @ The ELM
Sun. Oct. 2 – Memphis, TN @ Mempho Fest
Tue. Oct. 4 – New Orleans, LA @ Civic Theatre
Wed. Oct. 5 – New Orleans, LA @ Civic Theatre
Fri. Oct. 7 – Columbia, MO @ Roots N Blues Festival