A Ghost Is Born

No single song on Wilco’s latest album smacks you across the kisser and demands your attention. But while it's not their listener-friendliest effort, A Ghost Is Born is far and away Wilco's most confident. On “At Least That’s What You Said,” a somber piano is hijacked by the kind of spastic guitar contortions that would make Neil Young smirk. While we’ll gladly give 20 bucks to anybody who can explain to us exactly what “Holy shit, there’s a company in my back” means (from “Company in My Back”), the odd country rhythms and the plinking of a piano-like hammered dulcimer make perfect sense. The ass-kicking “I’m a Wheel,” at least, provides a welcome break from the weirdness and also reflects Wilco’s Replacements-inspired beginnings. Granted, we probably could have done without the 10 interminable minutes of spacey feedback that close “Less Than You Think,” but these guys are really just playing hard to get. By not giving it up quite so easily, they ensure we’ll still respect them in the morning.