If you approach a Wilco fan and ask where the band really hit their creative stride, a large majority of them will point to their fourth studio album, 2001’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. The ambitious and influential LP marked a change of pace for the beloved alt-country rockers. The 11-song project introduced a more poignant, experimental side of the band and their fearless leader, Jeff Tweedy. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot remains a cornerstone of contemporary indie music to this day. Still, the unrelenting creativity and new lineup change that led to the runaway success of Wilco’s most daring project to date didn’t start when the band uploaded the album to their website; it was when Tweedy met Jim O’Rourke and Glen Kotche in 2000.
The story goes that Tweedy was set to perform a solo set at the Noise Pop Festival in Chicago in 2000. A part of the set included Tweedy choosing an artist to collaborate with, and after being stunned by O’Rourke’s 1997 LP, Bad Timing, Tweedy’s choice was obvious. O’Rourke brought along Kotche, who would go on to become the full-time drummer for Wilco, and Loose Fur was born. The freshly minted trio would go on to have a massive impact on Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and change the way Tweedy approached music entirely. While the trio’s impact is spread across Wilco albums and O’Rourke’s solo discography, their two lone releases under Loose Fur explode with creativity and color, and their sophomore effort, 2006’s Born Again in the USA, is turning twenty.
Loose Fur’s second and final album under the name arrived on March 21, 2006. The eight-song LP found the band expanding on their innate chemistry, relying more on O’Rourke for songwriting and layering their guitars to drive home the poetry that runs throughout this tracklist. In comparison to their self-titled debut, Born Again in the USA was more confident, almost as if Loose Fur was finding its own identity outside of a Wilco side-project, just as things were coming to a close. Their collaborative magic can be heard more clearly on Lose Fur-contributed albums like A Ghost Is Born, and Sky Blue Sky, but their individuality as a lone band gets recontextualized after a listen to the band’s swan song.
Born Again In The USA is far from being one of Tweedy’s all-around most important statements, but it is not one to be ignored. The gentle, swaying acoustics of “Answers To Your Questions,” the vibrant imagery and captivating storytelling of “The Ruling Class,” the punchy, artsy “Pretty Sparks,” there is something familiar yet alien about these songs. There is a darkness to records like the searing “Stupid As the Sun” and the jazzy album closer “Wanted” that ties the trio’s lofty visions together. At the same time, “Hey Chicken” leans toward the rolling alt-country that became Loose Fur’s signature sound throughout their collaborative history.
Upon the release of this LP, die-hard Wilco fans were already firmly accustomed to Tweedy, O’Rourke, and Kotche’s risky tendencies, but Born Again In The USA highlights the nuances O’Rourke and Kotche brought to Wilco. There is a freeing nature to these eight songs that emphasizes the ethereal happenstance that brought Loose Fur together, acting as another chapter to one of the more prolific and singular super-groups music has seen in recent memory.
Loose Fur’s sophomore effort was greeted with generally favorable reviews, receiving a 7.3 from Pitchfork. Still, if this trio proved anything during their time together, it was that commercial success and critical acclaim were far from the point. Loose Fur was built around natural talents and the community that can be built around a shared vision, and Born Again in the USA deconstructed this community, revealing its inner workings for all to see.
