Wilco has announced a new album called Ode to Joy. The follow-up to 2016’s rather-excellent Schmilco hits stores on October 4th via dBpm Records. In anticipation, they’ve shared a preview with balmy lead single, “Love Is Everywhere (Beware)”.

Update: A second single, “Everyone Hides”, has been released.



Whereas Schmilco was somber, Ode to Joy is everything the title suggests. According to frontman Jeff Tweedy in a press release, the record’s full of really big, big folk songs, these monolithic, brutal structures that these delicate feelings are hung on.”

The conceit for the album arrived in the wake of Tweedy’s two solo albums — 2018’s Warm and this year’s Warmer. Working alongside drummer Glenn Kotche, the two created a bold “launching pad” for the rest of the band to build upon in extroverted ways.

(Read: A Wilco State of Mind 2016 Cover Story)

That sense of outward creation can be heard on “Love Is Everywhere (Beware)”. It shares the delicate nature of anything off Schmilco, but with the meditative warmth that the Chicago outfit has trademarked for over two decades. It’s chewy and folksy.

Of the song, Tweedy offered some thoughts:

“There MUST be more love than hate. Right?! I’m not always positive we can be so sure. In any case, I’m starting to feel like being confident in that equation isn’t always the best motivation for me to be my best self – it can kind of let me off the hook a little bit when I think I should be striving to contribute more love outside of my comfortable sphere of family and friends. So. . . I guess the song is sort of a warning to myself that YES, Love IS EVERYWHERE, but also BEWARE! I can’t let that feeling absolve me of my duty to create more.”

Stream the track below.

Pre-orders are on-going. Grab both the cover artwork and tracklist below, followed by their ensuing tour dates. Because, hey, new Wilco album means new Wilco setlists, and you should know by now they’re masters of that domain. Get your tickets now.

Ode to Joy Artwork:

Ode to Joy Tracklist:

01. Bright Leaves

02. Before Us

03. One and a Half Stars

04. Quiet Amplifier

05. Everyone Hides

06. White Wooden Cross

07. Citizens

08. We Were Lucky

09. Love Is Everywhere (Beware)

10. Hold Me Anyway

11. An Empty Corner

Wilco 2019-2020 Tour Dates:

09/04 – Trondheim, NO @ Tapperiet &

09/06 – Stavanger, NO @ Stavanger Konserthus Zetlitz &

09/07 – Bergen, NO @ USF Verftet &

09/08 – Oslo, NO @ Sentrum Scene &

09/10 – Copenhagen, DK @ Den Gra Hal &

09/12 – Berlin, DE @ Tempodrom &

09/13 – Cologne, DE @ Carlswerk Victoria &

09/14 – Hamburg, DE @ Elbphilharmonie

09/15 – Warsaw, PL @ Progresja &

09/18 – Zürich, CH @ Volkshaus *

09/19 – Milan, IT @ Fabrique *

09/20 – Padova, IT @ Gran Teatro Geox *

09/22 – Paris, FR @ Le Trianon *

09/23 – Utrecht, NL @ TivoliVredenburg Grote Zaal *

09/24 – Antwerp, BE @ De Roma *

09/26 – Glasgow, UK @ Barrowlands *

09/27 – Manchester, UK @ Albert Hall *

09/28 – London, UK @ Eventim Apollo *

10/08 – Toronto, ON @ Budweiser Stage

10/10 – Boston, MA @ Boch Center Wang Theatre

10/11 – Boston, MA @ Boch Center Wang Theatre

10/12 – New York, NY @ Radio City Music Hall

10/13 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel

10/15 – Washington, DC @ The Anthem

10/16 – Cary, NC @ Koka Booth Amphitheatre

10/18 – Atlanta, GA @ Cadence Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park

10/19 – Birmingham, AL @ Alabama Theatre

10/20 – Nashville, TN @ Grand Ole Opry House

10/22 – Tulsa, OK @ Cain’s Ballroom

10/23 – Irving, TX @ The Pavilion at the Toyota Music Factory

10/25 – Houston, TX @ Revention Music Center

10/26 – Austin, TX @ ACL Live at the Moody Theater

10/27 – Austin, TX @ ACL Live at the Moody Theater

11/04 – Grand Rapids @ 20 Monroe Live

11/05 – Ann Arbor, MI @ Hill Auditorium

11/06 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Heinz Hall

11/08 – Charlottesville, VA @ Sprint Pavilion

11/09 – Cincinnati, OH @ Taft Theatre

11/10 – Columbus, OH @ Palace Theatre

11/12 – Indianapolis, IN @ The Murat Theatre

11/13 – Louisville, KY @ The Louisville Palace

11/14 – St. Louis, MO @ Fabulous Fox Theatre

11/15 – Cedar Rapids, IA @ Paramount Theatre

11/17 – Kansas City, MO @ Arvest Bank Theatre at The Midland

11/19 – Denver, CO @ Mission Ballroom

11/20 – Omaha, NE @ Orpheum Theatre

01/18-21 – Riviera Maya, MX @ Hard Rock Hotel

&= w/ Spiral Stairs

*= w/ Ohmme