Giggity...

From Pitchfork:

Glenn Kotche Talks New Wilco Record

Wilco's next album is still shrouded in quite a bit of secrecy, but we received a small peak behind the curtain recently, when Pitchfork caught up with drummer Glenn Kotche. He's busy promoting his new solo album, Mobile, which dropped via Nonesuch in March; as announced on Friday, he'll perform at the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago's Union Park on July 30.

For the time being, Wilco remain in the writing and demoing stages of the recording process, utilizing their Chicago loft to do so. As reported by Billboard.com last month, new tracks "On and On and On", "Walken", and the tentatively titled "Either Way", along with one or two others, have made their way into the band's live set. "I think anyone who's heard them can see stylistically that it's pretty much all over the place right now," Kotche told Pitchfork.

"I'm kind of happy right now that we're not trying to affix any sort of concept to the record," he continued. "We're not saying, 'Oh, it's going to be this type of record or this type of record.' We're just getting together. We set up in a circle and come up with ideas. Some of them are songs Jeff has fleshed out, some of them are completely written on the spot. Someone plays a riff, and it goes from there.

"At this point, I just think we're making songs, crafting songs that we like and stylistically kind of letting the record shape itself instead of forcing a mold upon it... We're more going to keep this one about the songs instead of trying to make a statement with the record."

The goal is to forge on until Wilco have completed 30 or so songs, at which point they'll whittle that number down to fit the album. In the meantime, fans might be able to hear a new tune or two on the group's upcoming North American tour. The trek kicks off in Calgary in late June and wraps up in early August.

From Billboard.com:

Wilco Testing Out New Tunes On Tour
Wilco has been road-testing material intended for its next Nonesuch album and will return to the studio next month for more recording, drummer Glenn Kotche tells Billboard.com. The group has no firm timetable for the release of the as-yet-untitled set, which will be the follow-up to 2004's "A Ghost Is Born." "We already have a dozen-and-a-half songs demoed, but not all finished," Kotche says. "Maybe four or five have creeped into the live set." Among them are the tentatively titled "Either Way," which Kotche describes as "a beautiful soul number closer to Bill Withers" and "On and On and On," which is "a gorgeous ballad with a build throughout the whole song." Kotche says a third new song, "Walken," is "a swamp rocker with total, full-on guitar" that "wouldn't sound of out place on [Wilco's 1995 debut album] 'A.M.'" Overall, Kotche says the material is "kind of all over the place. We're going to continue demoing to see what shape the record takes. We're not really forcing anything. We're just writing songs that we like and crafting good songs together. We'll see what rises to the top."

Wilco will be back on the road in July and August, including a hometown Aug. 6 appearance at Lollapalooza in Chicago. "We're slowing down, but slowing down for Wilco means we'll have one or two months off this year instead of none," Kotche says with a laugh. As previously reported, Kotche is also playing a host of shows in support of his recent Nonesuch solo album, "Mobile."

Asked what he sees as the biggest change in Wilco since he joined in 2001, Kotche says, "Even before that, the precedent was set that no two records were the same. That's the cool thing about Wilco. We make things we like to hear that we're going to want to listen to in 10 or 20 years. I think they were doing that before I joined. Stylistically, it has gone in some different directions. Musically, there are some amazing musicians in the band now, like [guitarist] Nels Cline. We're able to tackle a lot more and a lot more different stuff than Wilco previously had."


From Popmatters.com:

"A new song, "Walken", is a breathtaking display of Zeppelin riffage (if there's one thing that often gets lost on Wilco's records it is just how hard the band rocks)."

LISTEN TO "WALKEN / TALKING TO MYSELF ABOUT YOU" HERE!!!