Wilco is back again with more of their enigmatic rock 'n' roll

NEW YORK -- Wilco's music is, by turns, enigmatic, compelling, thrilling and absorbing. And it's often -- let's be honest here -- just plain weird.

Sometimes it's many of those things in the same song. But while Wilco's 2002 breakthrough album, "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot," was self-consciously weird, the follow-up, "a ghost is born," is more confidently weird.

The disc is being released today, although Wilco has streamed the music on its Web site for the past two months.

The new album's predecessor became a legendary parable for the music industry, even a subject for a movie. Rejected by Wilco's record company -- essentially for being too, uh, weird -- it was released to critical acclaim and became Wilco's biggest seller.

Wilco's growth from a standard alternative country band to a more arty, experimental unit nearly tore the band apart.

The second album "was a much easier record in terms of band dynamic and the amount of collaboration and investment from everybody involved," said Jeff Tweedy, the chief singer and songwriter. "There was a lot more of a unified vision of what we wanted to do."

A documentary depicting the "Yankee" sessions showed Tweedy and an ex-band member frequently arguing, with Tweedy leaving the studio at one point to vomit.

While it was smoother sailing with the band, Tweedy's health clouded the sessions for "ghost."

Tweedy had frequent migraines from a panic disorder, which led to an addiction to painkillers. He went to a treatment facility for nearly a month this spring to deal with the problems.

"A lot of things came from my subconscious that made me realize that I did know down deep some of the things I needed to do to get better," he said. "That's not uncommon. I think music exists to help you identify things in your life."

While "Yankee" was an album that looked out at the world and struggles to communicate, "ghost" looks inward, he said. Much of it is about how difficult it is to know and be comfortable with who you are.

If a listener said that he often has no idea what Tweedy is saying in a song but enjoys it anyway, would Tweedy be pleased or insulted?

"I consider that a compliment, because I think they're wrong," he said. "It's music. You can't tell someone a melody. You can't tell someone a guitar solo. They're very powerful things."