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."
"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."
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