User ratings in Music are temporarily disabled. More info

Cruel Country
by
  • Record Label:
  • Release Date:
Cruel Country Image
Metascore
83

Universal acclaim - based on 17 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.3

Universal acclaim- based on 16 Ratings

  • Summary: The 12th full-length studio release for the Chicago indie rock band Wilco was recorded live at their loft with little overdubs.
Buy Now
Buy on

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 17
  3. Negative: 0 out of 17
  1. Clash Music
    May 27, 2022
    90
    'Cruel Country' is neither ironic, nor frivolous: it’s a sprawling double-album that stands as one of Wilco’s best, an ever-moving meditation on the quest for connection in a country that’s often cruel but always worthy, in Tweedy’s eyes, of forgiveness.
  2. The New York Times
    May 26, 2022
    80
    On “Cruel Country” Wilco offers no grand lesson or master plan, only observations, feelings and enigmas. Many of the album’s best moments are wordless ones.
  3. Mojo
    May 25, 2022
    80
    They return forever changed to confidently shape a form of country music that is entirely of their own character. [Jul 2022, p.87]
    All this publication's reviews
  4. Rolling Stone
    May 27, 2022
    80
    Despite its length and musical theme, Cruel Country doesn’t at first feel like a grand statement, but Tweedy has subtly laid out the ambitious concept of tying his classic American music to the classical theme of American social and political alienation (this, Uncle Tupelo fans, is where the record truly becomes roots music).
  5. The Line of Best Fit
    Jun 1, 2022
    80
    Ultimately, however, the highs triumph over the occasional coasting, even if it's hard to entirely shake off the feeling that there's a killer 12 or 14 track record to top off Wilco's return to studio form on 2019's Ode to Joy lurking amongst this bumper crop of Jeff Tweedy’s songs and Wilco’s telepathic dynamics.
  6. The Wire
    Jul 13, 2022
    80
    Some will find Cruel Country monotonous; the patient however will be rewarded with an abundance of thoughtful, delicate, often brutally plaintive songcraft. [Aug 2022, p.60]
    All this publication's reviews
  7. Beats Per Minute
    May 31, 2022
    58
    At heart, it’s all too modest, too fatigued, too lacking in ambition and attitude.

See all 17 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 11
  3. Negative: 1 out of 11
  1. jimlefferts
    May 27, 2022
    10
    It's stunning to see "critic" reviews ranging from 70-90. This is a great album from a great band at the top of their game. It's a sprawling,It's stunning to see "critic" reviews ranging from 70-90. This is a great album from a great band at the top of their game. It's a sprawling, grand gesture at the caliber of their best work such as "Yankee Foxtrot Hotel" and "A Ghost is Born" but with a twang (more Americana than country) and a subdued manner rather than dissonance. Ambitious in scope, wry, honest, subtle and understated it's their best album since Ghost.… Expand
  2. Vsenese
    May 27, 2022
    10
    Brilliant...Tweedy is amongst the best songwriters of his generation and I'm still locked in to what he and this band has to say no matterBrilliant...Tweedy is amongst the best songwriters of his generation and I'm still locked in to what he and this band has to say no matter what kind of music it's put to. The fact that it's mellow is foolish to deny the great musicianship going on in these songs...It's a double album so the scope is big but, I've been listening for a few days and it just gets better and better...Bravo Wilco… Expand
  4. ExiledRoyal
    May 30, 2022
    10
    In a world where music is streamed, shuffled, hardly ever played from beginning to end, I really hope this album breaks that mold. It'sIn a world where music is streamed, shuffled, hardly ever played from beginning to end, I really hope this album breaks that mold. It's sensitive, undemanding, but really life-affirming and gorgeous to hear.… Expand
  5. jayman69
    May 27, 2022
    9
    Just saw Wilco perform the full album live at Solid Sound. I've listened a few times with the advance copy sent out by the band, but hearingJust saw Wilco perform the full album live at Solid Sound. I've listened a few times with the advance copy sent out by the band, but hearing it live so soon felt glorious!!! A great new double album, with so many future standouts for concerts to come!! Lots of toe tappin, and many Tweedy introspective moments that deal with post pandemic urgency to focus on hope and peace within. Please sit down and give this a listen. Twice. Then again. The band hasn't sounded this great since Sky Blue Sky.... which is my favorite Wilco album front to back. Embrace this Americana tales and free yourself and look up at the sky.....… Expand
  6. nemiskam
    Jun 7, 2022
    8
    There are a few immediately arresting songs on Cruel Country and a few that meld into the background. I'm not sure if the latter songs willThere are a few immediately arresting songs on Cruel Country and a few that meld into the background. I'm not sure if the latter songs will grow in stature over time -- I'll know in a couple of years after many more playings. If Jeff Tweedy's best work since A Ghost is Born has been Warm, then Cruel Country has a chance to be of the same stature.… Expand
  7. indierash
    Jun 28, 2022
    7
    Wilco's new album, Cruel Country, is Jeff Tweedy and co.'s return to their roots. Tweedy's former band, Uncle Tupelo, was known for playingWilco's new album, Cruel Country, is Jeff Tweedy and co.'s return to their roots. Tweedy's former band, Uncle Tupelo, was known for playing primarily country rock, so when Wilco was formed, he wanted to shake that former label and take his new project into new and unexplored territory. Tweedy has acknowledged his resistance to Wilco being labeled country, but with Cruel Country's subject matter–he said it felt natural for them to embrace their country roots.

    This is the first time the members of Wilco have worked together in over a decade. They largely recorded this album live at Wilco’s studio, The Loft in Chicago. During the recording of his solo album "Love is the King" in 2020, Tweedy began writing songs for this new album. Although the themes differ, the atmosphere is remarkably similar.

    Cruel Country’s massive 21 song double album flows with constant warmth. Country trades rock and roll for gentle twang guitar and gallop and brush drumming instead. The album's quieter moments see the band exploring country, folk and Americana further than previous albums have ever allowed them to. Tracks are generally driven by Tweedy's acoustic guitar and held in a low-fi, breathy tempo by the band, and they take a different approach compared to what we're used to, which might turn off some longtime fans.

    Country has classic Tweedy wordplay and melodies throughout each song, as to be expected. While it is not surprising that so many artists are writing about the current horrifying events going on in America and around the world, Jeff has supplied us with his unique and straight forward perspective. Influences though do not always hide as Tweedy conjures up Jerry Garcia’s spirit during the chorus on the title track, “All you have to do is sing in the choir, set yourself on fire, every once in a while, sing in choir with me, with me. I love my country like a little child, red, white and blue.” “Story to Tell” sounds like the fab four sat down with Wilco and wrote a song for them–the instrumentation, song structure, and driving melody all sound like the Beatles.

    Nearly every track on Country is under the four-minute mark–driving themselves home very much like a Beatles pop song before moving onto the next. No heavy use of solos, long jams, freak-outs or psychedelic endings that Wilco is prone to do. Yet at 21 tracks and two albums of soft and warm, Cruel Country can be overindulgent, but if you're in tune with it, it can be incredibly inviting and enjoyable.    … Expand
  8. HumanoidEscapee
    May 27, 2022
    3
    Yet another whispering snoozefest of 22 totally forgettable songs. Wilco used to challenge and explore, but the past several albums have beenYet another whispering snoozefest of 22 totally forgettable songs. Wilco used to challenge and explore, but the past several albums have been suitable only for use in sedation dentistry.… Expand

See all 11 User Reviews

Awards & Rankings

83
#83 Best Album of 2022
72
#72 Most Discussed Album of 2022

Current Music Releases

Full List »
99 Band on the Run [50th Anniversary Edition] - Paul McCartney & Wings
95 If I don't make it, I love u - Still House Plants
95 The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow - Charles Lloyd
91 COWBOY CARTER - Beyoncé
91 The Carnegie Hall Concert - Alice Coltrane
91 Here in the Pitch - Jessica Pratt
90 Iechyd Da - Bill Ryder-Jones
90 This Could Be Texas - English Teacher
89 I Got Heaven - Mannequin Pussy
89 Tigers Blood - Waxahatchee
89 All Born Screaming - St. Vincent
88 What Now - Brittany Howard
88 Only God Was Above Us - Vampire Weekend
88 Hey Panda - The High Llamas
88 Orquídeas - Kali Uchis
88 The Past Is Still Alive - Hurray for the Riff Raff
87 Filthy Underneath - Nadine Shah
87 i/o - Peter Gabriel
87 Blue Lips - ScHoolboy Q
87 Funeral for Justice - Mdou Moctar
All Current Music »