The breakthrough to a wider audience came for American band Wilco with the rather experimental
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002). The band thus became a figurehead for so-called alternative country, but abandoned experimentation and focused more and more on a more accessible sound. With Cousin, this changes somewhat. For a change, the record was not produced by the band itself, but by the hip Welsh-based
… producer Cate le Bon. Musically, it hints at their breakthrough album. In his lyrics, singer Jeff Tweedy sounds mostly resigned. For example, Ten Dead deals with the almost meaningless news that yet another massive, senseless shooting has taken place. Although not all the lyrics are so dark, Tweedy sounds bleak even for his standards. Fortunately, his music thrives on that. (JV)more
