Wilco Release Free New Album, Star Wars

Photo ZORAN ORLIC

As promised in Jeff Tweedy’s live interview with Pitchfork last night, Wilco released a free record today called Star Wars. Streaming in full below and available for a limited time at the band’s official site, the surprise album features 11 new songs that barely eclipse the 30-minute mark.

Outside of one increasingly tense track (“You Satellite”) that’s bound to feature some broad brushstrokes onstage, it’s easily one of their most laid-back LPs. Maybe it has to do with Tweedy’s mood in recent years, which stands in stark contrast to the migraine-wracked mess he battled around the release of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost Is Born?

He certainly seems as happy as he’s ever been lately. Or as Tweedy put it in a press release, “We’ve been feeling very fortunate lately being reminded of how long we’ve been able to do this. We believe one of the primary reasons for our good fortune has been our audiences reaction to our impulse to be heard and our habit of erring on the side of that desire to override financial ambition. Not that we don’t enjoy getting paid. We do. But this is a recommitment to the idea that music is more important to our lives. Art is more worthy of our striving. And fun is more sustaining than cash. It’s not intended to be a comment on the music business, just one band’s wish to give our fans a jolt of joy: a fun surprise. In that spirit we hope you will accept this gift and if not, well, maybe next time.”

Physical CD pressings of Star Wars will arrive on August 21st, with a separate vinyl release set for November 27th. Meanwhile, digital downloads will stay free until August 13th. Have a look and a listen to it all down below…