Ode to Joy – the 11th studio album from the pioneering Chicago rock band Wilco – will be released October 4th 2019 via dBpm Records. The album features 11 new songs written and produced by Jeff Tweedy and recorded by Wilco at the bands own Chicago studio dubbed The Loft. Ode to Joy comes three-plus years after the release of the “world-weary, wheezy – and wonderfully warm” ( The Guardian ) Schmilco , and encourages the act of finding joy in a dark political climate. The album presents a unique rhythm track and a minimalist instrumentation, with lyrics at once observant, hopeful, morbid, tolerant, and abstract. “ Love is Everywhere (Beware) ,” the album’s extrospective lead single, is an upbeat, guitar-driven track that explores the dual joy and threat of a community focused on love. Jeff Tweedy discusses it below. “There MUST be more love than hate. Right?! I’m not always positive we can be so sure. In any case, I’m starting to feel like being confident in that equation isn’t always the best motivation for me to be my best self – it can kind of let me off the hook a little bit when I think I should be striving to contribute more love outside of my comfortable sphere of family and friends. So. . . I guess the song is sort of a warning to myself that YES, Love IS EVERYWHERE, but also BEWARE! I can’t let that feeling absolve me of my duty to create more.” Ode to Joy Tracklist: 1.Bright Leaves 2. Before Us 3. One and a Half Stars 4. Quiet Amplifier 5. Everyone Hides 6. White Wooden Cross 7. Citizens 8. We Were Lucky 9. Love Is Everywhere (Beware) 10. Hold Me Anyway 11. An Empty Corner
