- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
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Entertainment WeeklyMore about songs than weird jams, alternating between twisted retro rock and eccentric folk rock. [24 Mar 2006, p.71]
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It sounds like three talented guys having fun making music, unworried about burrowing too deep or pleasing anyone but themselves.
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The disc tends to coast now and then, though it’s hard to say if that’s due to chinks in the songwriting armor or the band’s straightforwardness. Still, rock for rock’s sake is not without meaning.
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A modest but consistently satisfying affair, rich in music and message.
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The New York TimesIt's more coherent [than its predecessor] by a mile. It's longer, and its group songwriting blends better. [20 Mar 2006]
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It's more of a proper album than Loose Fur itself was, but having fun making music together still sounds like the main priority on Born Again, which, once again, also makes it a lot of fun for Wilco and O'Rourke fans.
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Alternative PressWhile no Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, [it] will still placate fans excited to see where Tweedy takes Wilco next. [May 2006, p.174]
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It’s not often that a side-project produces an album that deserves anything more than a footnote mention. Loose Fur deserves its own cult.
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UncutAn air of cheerful scepticism prevails over the 10 tracks, all bathed in the kind of dry, warm production favoured by early-'70s radio rock. [Apr 2006, p.100]
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Paste MagazineLacking Wilco's tender drama, Loose Fur proves its own beast, content to roam subtle vistas, noisy archipelagos and amber waves of feedback. [Apr/May 2006, p.113]
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They sound laid back. They sound like they’re having a blast. They sound, well, loose.
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Born Again is superior to its predecessor in nearly every respect.
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Musically, the album is a definite barnburner. If you find the messages too much to stomach, the melodies and riffage will comfort you.
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Born Again in the USA is as worthy as side projects get, an album you’d want to pay attention to even if you’d never heard of its antecedents.
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Rolling StoneBorn Again is more straightforward than twenty-first-century Wilco. [20 Apr 2006, p.69]
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Under The RadarSuggesting charm and a more compact production to Wilco's expansive soundscapes, Born Again in the USA nevertheless demonstrates a knack for complex arrangements and inventive direction. [#13, p.93]
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MojoA more than enjoyable stopgap. [May 2006, p.104]
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Q MagazineA charming album. [May 2006, p.128]
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Born Again in the USA is playful, proggy, and built for black lights.
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It's certainly a mixed bag but one that fans of all-American rock won't be disappointed with.
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Other than on "Answers to Your Questions," it's not real pretty when O'Rourke steps to the microphone. Most of his songs stab at a Tom Waits-style balladry but end up sounding more like schmaltzy Steely Dan castoffs.
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Thematically, "Born Again In The USA" is a bold album that tries hard - perhaps too hard - to bind together the inter-related twines of culture, politics, history and entertainment.
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New Musical Express (NME)[It] takes some persistance. [18 Mar 2006, p.35]
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What ultimately makes the album something of a chore is its one-joke premise, a preaching-to-the-choir broadside against the Evangelical right's ongoing assault on individual liberties and rational thought.
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MagnetA mixed bag. [#71, p.102]
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While a well-concocted snotty attitude may be a decisive factor in any number of great rock albums, Born Again in the USA feels lazy without any particular agenda. It’s good for a laugh and a couple of listens, but ultimately does not resonate.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 9 out of 9
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Mixed: 0 out of 9
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Negative: 0 out of 9
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AlexanderK.May 24, 2006
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DanHMay 6, 2006
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DonMApr 16, 2006