FDF Volume 2 Issue 105: Loose Fur - Loose Fur

Album - Loose Fur
Artist - Loose Fur
Key Players - Jim O'Rourke, .Jeff Tweedy, Glenn Kotche
Produced By - Jim O'Rourke

Release Date - January 28, 2003

What caused me to blow off the dust? - I have been reading about some great Wilco shows on line as of late. I don't seem to stray too far from a Wilco cd but it had been a while since I had given this side projects debut a "once over".

Overview - Wilco front man Jeff Tweedy was working on a solo show when he began to work with Jim O'Rourke and Glenn Kotche. The sessions began in 2000 and this would eventually be released as their first album in 2000. This area of time would have profound implications on the band Wilco as this record re-focused Jeff both musically and lyrically. Wilco would also lose two members soon after because Jeff had such a change in direction. After some time the band would release a second record called "Born Again in the USA".


FDF Comments (aka the songs) - The floor tom lead "Laminated Cat" opens the record. A cast off Wilco track that never really got to Tweedys liking builds with more guitar and bass. There is a pretty good guitar solo but it is not a flashy solo. "Elegant Transaction" has the lyrics brought right up. The acoustic guitar works well with the simple verse swapping. The song later gets some banjo fills and gets more uptempo as it continues. The focus throughout remains on the acoustic guitar and it sort of has a looping, repeating section over and over, but it doesn't really seem to bother the listener. The longest, and most experimental track "So Long" is next. Right out of the gate the song feels like it lacks any focus. The guitar sort of plods along, almost hitting bad and botched notes, but it really is not. A smattering of various percussion instruments chime at various times while the guitar continues to remain unfocused. This is a taxing listen that is for sure. Making up for it is then the shortest track on the album "You Were Wrong". The piano and guitar on this track is wonderful. The instrumental track "Liquidation Totale" follows. According to various sources the album was put together with very few overdubs or "takes". The guitars have a good buzz to them and it may sound odd to report the banjo part is quite good. The guitars don't seem to hold things back. The pretty solo acoustic guitar brings up the album closer "Chinese Apple". The track slowly builds to a wonderful "chime' in the guitar(s). It almost blurs the lines into 12 sting guitars..and it could be. A great album closer


Where are they now? - Jeff and Glenn are active members in Wilco who still write and perform live. O'Rourke who was a member of Sonic Youth until 2005 has continued to write and perform as a solo artist and collaborator, who has worked with Wilco.

FDF Personal Comments (aka the Live experience) - Loose Fur is a side project and the band has toured just one time doing two shows in New York City. They have not toured since.

FDF Overall Take - For fans of Wilco and Sonic Youth there are some parts that will satisfy you. It is nice to hear artists do something out of their comfort zone, but still remaining in the realm that got you to take notice of them the first time. These records won't come out at a fast pace, and this might not be a record you put on to get a party started but the end result is reward enough.

Links -
The label's sitehere

Curious? Check out some MUSIC!

the mp3s have been removed. They were
Elegant Transaction and Chinese Apple


Tracks taken from the debut album which you can buy
here

Disclaimer - For the most part songs listed you can find on iTunes or your local cd shop. The idea is to give you a little taste of the music. Please support the artist buy purchasing some of their work. Songs are posted for about 1 week but can and will be removed at the request of the artist, band, band management etc. If you are one of those persons contact me via the email link in the profile and they will be removed as soon as we are made aware of the request.