Jeff Tweedy – Twilight Override (dBpm) (13th Floor Album Review)
Jeff Tweedy doesn’t need another write-up to “drum up listenership.” Throngs of devoted Wilco fans will simply lap up his latest solo triple album Twilight Override—a genuine fucking gem of a record, I should add—by word of its existence alone.
This review is therefore not for them.
It’s for those of us who, like lapsed Catholics, stopped worshiping in the house of Tweedy years ago. For me, that happened around 2007, following the stunning run that saw the light of Being There, Summerteeth, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, and the visceral A Ghost Is Born, which saw Tweedy’s emotional house of cards buckle under its own weight.
Twilight Override, released on dBpm records, delivers 30 close-mic’d strikes on flint—a necessary resistance to the oncoming night currently sweeping over the human condition. Backed by his sons, Spenser and Sammy, alongside James Elkington, Sima Cunningham, Macie Stewart, and Liam Kazar, Tweedy’s self-professed aim was to offer hope during dark times. He achieves this, producing a work of heartfelt honesty and beautiful rawness—a definitive return to what I so dearly loved about him.
The lyrics veer from playfully abstract to nakedly emotional. “No one stands a chance getting caught up in the past,” he sings on the second track. With this record, I beg to differ.
Musically, this album is adventurous. Despite the simple setup of acoustic musicians, the songs are playful, inventive, and at times, challenging. There is a demanding run of tracks on the second disc—New Orleans, Western Skies, Blank Baby, No One’s Moving On, in particular—that push the listener out of the comfortable melodies and arrangements of the first disc.
Praise is due to the backing musicians for the subtle but essential framework they provide. Their work creates extra tension when needed and weaves counter-melodies that enhance Tweedy’s already beautiful and aching compositions.
Elements of this album actively recall that golden Wilco era. The spoken word of Parking Lot returns to the allure of chrome first explored on A Ghost Is Born‘s Hell Is Chrome. In the same breath, the lead guitar work on This is How it Ends feels like a direct recall of At Least That’s What You Said’s” fractured solo. Other eras appear, too: the moto-rock beat of Forever Never Ends, the familiar, comforting fit of Out in the Dark like some favorite old coat, through to the final track, Enough, which is the most Wilco-esque moment on the entire album.
There is a wealth of hope and humanity here. Tweedy consciously revisits his youth throughout, with clear references to alcohol, proms, and drugs—notably on KC Rain (No Wonder). The soaring harmonies of -High in the Morning, High in the Afternoon- carry no judgment to his younger self, only love. Ain’t It a Shame is a rumination on past friendships, carrying the perfect, bittersweet reflection:
I am Welcomed
I am Loved
I am Free
But I have reached for something I can’t keep.
Twilight Override is more than just a triple album; it’s proof that the heroes of your past can return and make you a believer again. It’s the humanity to know you are not alone in dark times. The human condition is, indeed, a remarkable thing.
Rob Jones
Twilight Override is out now on dBpm Records
Available at your local record store or wherever you stream music.
For more details, track listing and credits: go here.
