Wilco Drop New Video For “Cousin”

Wilco shares the title track off their forthcoming album, Cousin, the LP drops September 29th on dBpm Records
Wilco shares the title track off their forthcoming album, Cousin, the LP drops September 29th on dBpm Records

Wilco shares the title track off their forthcoming album, Cousin, the LP drops September 29th on dBpm Records. “Cousin” is, musically and lyrically, a fight with a relative. Rather, a refusal to fight: the narrator holds their familial opponent in a de-escalatory bear hug, while admitting, “My cousin / I’m you.” Following lead single “Evicted,” “Cousin” says we owe it to each other to fight, as long as we remember our own culpability and our sameness, our relation. Frontman Jeff Tweedy expresses anger while grievances are laid on the line (“When your red lines / Get crossed with mine / I object to you / Our deal’s un-struck”), all while recognizing that we hate in others what we hate in ourselves.

This month, Wilco will embark on a North American tour, including a newly announced second show at the Bellwether in Los Angeles (on sale tomorrow) and three nights at the historic Ace Hotel, two nights in Seattle, plus stops in Dallas, Denver, St. Louis and more. In December, the band will return to Mexico for the Wilco-curated Sky Blue Sky festival. And today they announce their return to Australia and Japan. A full list of currently-announced Wilco tour dates are below, and tickets are on sale now here.

Produced by the singular Welsh artist Cate Le Bon, Cousin marks the first time Wilco have handed the reins over to a producer outside their immediate circle of collaborators since 2007’s Sky Blue Sky. “The amazing thing about Wilco is they can be anything,” Le Bon says. “They’re so mercurial, and there’s this thread of authenticity that flows through everything they do, whatever the genre, whatever the feel of the record. There aren’t many bands who are able to, this deep into a successful career, successfully change things up.”

“I’m cousin to the world,” Tweedy confesses. “I don’t feel like I’m a blood relation, but maybe I’m a cousin by marriage. It’s this feeling of being in it and out of it at the same time.” Cousin is Wilco’s most emotional, worthwhile expression of the pain of trying to be connected to other people when we fall short so often; the joy of catching understanding in someone else’s eye, however fleeting; and the immutable truth that all of us are related, whether we honor or dishonor or forget or remember.

Wilco 2023 Tour Dates:

Tue. Sep. 26 – Tulsa, OK @ Cain’s Ballroom *
Thu. Sep. 28 – Dallas, TX @ South Side Ballroom *
Fri. Sep. 29 – Austin, TX @ Moody Amphitheater @ Waterloo Park *
Sun. Oct. 1 – Albuquerque, NM @ Kiva Auditorium *
Tue. Oct. 3 – Scottsdale, AZ @ Scottsdale Civic Center East Bowl Stage *
Wed. Oct. 4 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Theatre at Ace Hotel *
Thu. Oct. 5 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Theatre at Ace Hotel *
Fri. Oct. 6 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Theatre at Ace Hotel *
Sun. Oct. 8 – Monterey, CA @ Rebels & Renegades Festival
Wed. Oct. 11 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Bellwether *
Thu. Oct. 12 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Bellwether *
Fri. Oct. 13 – Santa Barbara, CA @ Arlington Theatre *
Sat. Oct. 14 – Berkeley, CA @ Greek Theatre ^
Mon. Oct. 16 – Portland, OR @ Keller Auditorium *
Tue. Oct. 17 – Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre ^
Wed. Oct. 18 – Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre ^
Fri. Oct. 20 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Eccles Theater ^
Sun. Oct. 22 – Denver, CO @ Mission Ballroom ^
Mon. Oct. 23 – Omaha, NE @ The Astro Theater ^
Wed. Oct. 25 – Kansas City, MO @ Midland Theatre ^
Thu. Oct. 26 – St. Louis, MO @ Stifel Theatre ^
Fri. Oct. 27 – Bentonville, AR @ The Momentary ^
Sat. Dec. 2 – Wed. Dec. 6 – Riviera Maya, MX @ Sky Blue Sky (Hard Rock Hotel)
Thu. March 7, 2024 – Tokyo, JP @ Zepp Haneda
Fri. March 8, 2024 – Osaka, JP @ Hatch
Wed. March 13, 2024 – Brisbane, AU @ Princess Theatre
Fri. March 15, 2024 – Canberra, AU @ Canberra Theatre
Thu. March 21, 2024 – Sydney, AU @ Opera House

* w/ My Brightest Diamond
^ w/ Nina Nastasia

Pre-order Cousin by Wilco HERE

Advertisement

Looking for something new to listen to?

Sign up to our all-new newsletter for top-notch reviews, news, videos and playlists.