One new song, "Art of Almost," has an experimental feel, like 2009's "Bull Black Nova" and 2004's "Spiders (Kidsmoke)." It's a seven-minute, two-parter that starts as a free-form jam, punctuated with burbling synths, mellotrons, and tribal drums. It swells into a punk-ish coda, with virtuosic, fuzzed-out guitar shredding courtesy of Cline, the band's secret weapon.

But that isn't the most out-there track on the album: Wilco have also cut a 14-minute jam tentatively titled "Song for Jane Smiley's Boyfriend." Loosely inspired by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author's books, Tweedy says it's an autobiographical tune with ten verses: "It has a pretty long narrative."