Suprise! Wilco drops a new album - and it's free

Wilco, longtime curators of the Valley's own Solid Sound Festival, surprised the music world by unexpectedly releasing their eleventh studio album, Star Wars, for free download today.

Wilco faithful have been able to stream the album in full via Youtube since July 16, but last night the band opened up free downloads via iTunes and Amazon for a limited time. Anyone will be able to download the album through August 13, or to pre-order the physical CD or vinyl until August 21.

"We consider ourselves lucky to be in the position to give you this music free of charge, but we do so knowing not every band, label or studio can do the same," said the band's official release on their website, Wilcoworld. "Much of the “music business” relies on physical sales to keep the lights on and the mics up. Without that support, well, it gets tougher and tougher to make it all work."

The album features 11 new songs, running about 35 minutes in total, of what Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy calls "'a jolt of joy: a fun surprise'" in the band's release announcement.

Tracklisting

01 EKG - 0:04
02 More... - 1:18
03 Random Name Generator - 4:53
04 The Joke Explained - 7:52
05 You Satellite - 10:26
06 Taste the Ceiling - 15:42
07 Pickled Ginger - 18:57
08 Where Do I Begin - 21:27
09 Cold Slope - 24:22
10 King Of You - 27:33
11 Magnetized - 30:14