Wilco’s forthcoming tenth album, the hilariously titled Schmilco, was announced last month, and is due out in early September (read: soon, but not nearly soon enough).
But before it hits shelves, the band will host “I Heard Schmilco” listening parties at record stores across the U.S. on Sept. 6, allowing fans to hear the album in full and grab their vinyl copies ahead of the wide release on Sept. 9.
“I Heard Schmilco” events will also feature a few exclusive giveaways, with “white label Schmilco vinyl, slipmats featuring Joan Cornellà artwork + some shocking surprises” all up for grabs.
A particularly special listening party takes place at St. Louis’ Euclid Records (frontman Jeff Tweedy’s former employer) on Wednesday, Aug. 17 at 3 p.m. local time. Wilco will stop by for an in-store performance and signing before their show at The Fabulous Fox Theatre.
“More ‘I Heard Schmilco’ events will be announced soon,” the band wrote in a Facebook post. “If your city is missing – send a request to your favorite record store and ask if they’ll host.”
As for Schmilco itself, the album is described thusly in a press release:
Mostly an acoustic collection, Schmilco bears neither the vicious, fuzz-glam guitars of Star Wars, nor the dazzling, baroque-ish arrangements that fans have come to expect from Wilco. But in their place is a spaciousness and chaos that might feel welcome after 20-some years of enjoyed but now-familiar Wilco releases. It is an intentionally loose affair.
Punch your zip code into the store locator here to find the participating store nearest you, and enjoy a different kind of “Locator” here. Schmilco is out on vinyl Sept. 6, and in all formats Sept. 9 via Wilco’s own dBpm.