Wilco
[#] Summerteeth (1999)
How to sound alright when you very much aren't.
Reviewed July 8, 2023
I've never heard a more pitch-perfect snapshot of a violently estranged relationship than Summerteeth. "The ashtray says/You were up all night/When you went to bed/With your darkest mind." Yeppers. "Maybe all I need is a shot in the arm", or alternatively, "A kiss is all we need". The fix always seems so simple, right? But then again—"every little thing just tears you apart". "I'm too scared to get that close to you right now." No, it can't be that simple. "I'll come back to you/I'll be brand new/But I promise/We're just friends." It fucking stings—and so does Summerteeth. The peak of the Jeff Tweedy/Jay Bennett partnership, this is through and through pop rock, grand but not elliptical, and personal to the point of sticking in your chest.
The divide between the achy lyrics and the radiant pop rock backing, loaded with clanging pianos and bright, whirring synth leads is really what makes this album tick. The recurring autumn suicide dream on the title track wouldn't seem so significant without the sweetly noodling guitars, and the hoarsely-frustrated refrain on the outstanding "Can't Stand It" wouldn't go down so well without the chorus of groovy shakers and earworm riffs. (Not that Wilco can't be pretty when they slow down, as the blanket of keys on "How to Fight Loneliness" handily proves.) I'd recommend new Wilco fans start with the much less overloaded Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but it's hard to deny Summerteeth's, well, summery charms, regardless of how rough that summer happens to be.
| Essential: | "Can't Stand It", "How to Fight Loneliness", "Summer Teeth" |
|---|---|
| Quintessential: | "She's a Jar" |
| Non-Essential: | "Candyfloss" |
| Rating: |  |