Diehard Wilco fans: here is a trigger warning!

Look we know we’re treading on rather sharp egg shells here but if one band were going to polarize a festival like Black deer it was going to be Wilco. Reading the messages after their headline set at Black deer on Saturday evening it was a mix of extreme love “best set of the festival so far” and one of boredom “why did every song sound the same”

Sadly we fell into the latter camp.

Maybe it’s our age and yes we know they are iconic and huge amongst the Country and Americana scene but sadly, the best we can say about Wilco is how inoffensive they are as background music. Their lyrics rhyme, their chord sequences follow familiar patterns and the odd piano riff above the main melody is as exotic as this band get.

If you’re looking for comfort in routine, learn to enjoy one Wilco song and you’ll like them all.

We’re not saying that this band are without talent! They have a huge repertoire, having released 12 albums since 1994, and with several Grammys under their belt have influenced many other artists along the alternative rock road. Some guitar twangs take us back to our country roots and we’re reminded of why they’re playing the main stage

What we are saying is, as we sit here feeling relaxed, we realise that the repetition of the lyrics ‘sing in the choir’ may be our new lullaby when this particular reviewer is struggling to get to sleep. And in this day and age, that is also something many of us are looking for in our music choices.

Photos by David Court