Loose Fur – Born Again In The USA
For you alt-country Wilco types who cringed when Jeff Tweedy discovered “noise,” Loose Fur, the experimental side project, is not for you. “Boo hoo,” he sings to you on this trio’s second album, featuring Wilco drummer Glenn Kotche and multi-instrumental savant Jim O’Rourke.
All three share songwriting duties on these ten songs, which tend to become heavier than any in their combined past. Despite the taut rocker “Hey Chicken” and the breezy “Ruling Class” (the melody line a ghostly whistle), most of the songs are less reliant on hooks as they are on the dual guitar jams. Tweedy and O’Rourke break the songs into solos, harmonizing in torrents (“Apostolic”) or sometimes more quietly building upon single notes for gorgeous results. Kotche gives his drum kit equal time as his vibes, resulting in a steady stream of restless fills and dewy moods.
As for the title, evangelism figures into the lyrics (when they’re not mumbled). A crack-smoking Jesus makes an appearance as a political hustler dressed “in a new jacket, tax bracket, sandals and dark pair of jeans,” Tweedy sings. Meanwhile, O’Rourke testifies, “What do you want me to say/Ask you how was your day?/I’d tell you but then I’d have to care.”
Ultimately, it’s their fingers that deliver up the fire and brimstone. The album’s sole instrumental (“An Ecumenical Matter”) restlessly stops and restarts to find inventive new ways to rejoin the groove. Few rock musicians care to stretch their jazz chops this far, and the results are divine.