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As appealing as it is challenging, Extended Vacation is the sort of album that might even make those Wilco fans who can sing only "Kingpin" believe it.
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It all suggests a peculiar update of early-1960s exotica, with a heart of darkness in place of a setting sun.
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FilterThe spacious production leaves room for the sounds (cackling laughter, radio fuzz, the ever-present vibes) to be themselves, resulting in dream-like suites that are at once familiar and confusing. [Holiday 2009, p. 99]
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For now, Extended Vacation is nice enough, at times seductively lovely, but it lands short of essential.
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Chances are, Extended Vacation won't rope in fans of Gray's and Kotche's respective bands Wilco and Gastr del Sol, since it's a far cry from alt-country or math rock, but those looking for something that's avant-garde but fairly easy to digest might find this minimalist mood piece strangely soothing.
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Wilco drummer Glenn Kotche and Jim O’Rourke bassist Darin Gray needed three years to create, during breaks in their schedules, the unhurried dream-like expedition that is their fourth full-length album.
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UncutIntricately layering a wide array of sounds, from piano to field recordings, over seven dreamlike pieces, the duo's third album is at times pacific (in every sense), at others deeply unsettling, especially when they run tapes backwards over the end of the 11-minute "Daydreaming So Early". [Dec 2009, p. 108]
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MojoA delicate affair sometimes too wistful for its own good, even with the added colour of Dede Sampaio's bird sounds, Extended Vacation is a complex exercise in delicate melodies, field recordings and repetition. [Jan 2010, p. 100]
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Extended Vacation establishes itself well, creates a world both mysterious and inviting, but once you’re in the world its borders show themselves, and there’s little in the way of surprise.