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Sep 28, 2023‘Cousin’ is the perfect entry point for those who have inexplicably escaped the shadow of the Wilco’s influence to date. Showcasing all they do best it is also unique enough to stand as one of their finest moments.
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UncutSep 26, 2023Cousin is deliciously weird and intoxicatingly angular, but it still sounds like a Wilco album. [Oct 2023, p.24]
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Sep 28, 2023It’s an album with soul, several truly outstanding songs, and a certain profundity which reassures us that Wilco are riding yet another peak of glorious creativity, standing as one of the few remaining truly great bands of their generation.
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Oct 18, 2023Cosmic art country (Infinite Surprise, Pittsburgh) and skewed power pop (Save Me, Evicted) dominate, but most impressive are Sunlight Ends and A Bowl And A Pudding, moments of experimental beauty at the core of a constantly surprising album.
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Oct 2, 2023It’s another worthy addition to a burgeoning discography. It’s a wonderful feeling when an old favorite is still in a groove and pumping out quality music after so many years.
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Sep 29, 2023It's hard to imagine any of these songs immediately becoming crowd favorites, but as a carefully considered mood piece, Cousin is a powerful, affecting work that once again shows how many great things Wilco can do -- and how well they respond to the right kind of creative direction.
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Sep 28, 2023It’s the first Wilco set since the ‘00s to use an outside producer, and it shows, in the best possible way.
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Sep 28, 2023Cousin isn’t a completely unprecedented left turn but nor is it a straightforward reanimation of past glories. It’s something else; an album that feels simultaneously familiar and different, satisfying and disquieting.
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Sep 26, 2023Cousin is the band’s most avant-garde album in years, as Tweedy unleashes ten moving pieces of poetry set to unpredictable arrangements that all evoke the feeling of warmth despite their cold disposition.
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Sep 26, 2023Clever, involving, vital addition to one of the strongest discographies of the last 30 years. [Nov 2023, p.82]
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Sep 26, 2023They haven't lost the heart of their sound, only shown it in a new light. If last year's Cruel Country was a nod to their country roots, then Cousin is a departure from those origins in favour of new sonic shores.
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Sep 28, 2023Cousin carries just about the same level of uniqueness as any other Wilco release. Icy and poised, with support from Cate Le Bon on production, it’s their most emotional yet composed record in some time.
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Sep 28, 2023It’s the first Wilco album in years to activate, in fits and starts, the band’s long-dormant experimental gene; the first one in years where the songwriting feels as guided by the production as vice versa.
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Sep 28, 2023Cousin feels like a pretty good album from a band that outgrew “pretty good” long ago. Wilco can stand out from the roots-informed indie pack, but Cousin shows they are content to go with the flow, much like that affable enough relative you get along with but don’t see that often.
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Sep 26, 2023Though these tracks are perfectly adequate, even pretty (especially the vocal melodies on “Evicted”), it’s disappointing to see the band play it safe on an album that aims to be their most adventurous in years. Of course, the band proves that they can still write pensive ballads without succumbing to the clichés of contemporary indie music.
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Sep 28, 2023Album closer “Meant to Be” is maybe the best song on the album. It’s uptempo, for one thing, with electric guitars that circle and soar above a bed of synthesizers and a propulsive beat that help Tweedy’s melody take flight. It’s a reminder of how good Wilco can be at their best, even if that’s a standard the band doesn’t always reach on Cousin.
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