WILCO; “A.M.” ( Sire )***Is that ...

WILCO; “A.M.” ( Sire )***

Is that A.M. as in radio, a nod to this music’s occasional classic-pop elements? Or A.M. as in morning? As in long night’s journey into. . . .

Wilco is essentially Uncle Tupelo, the St. Louis cult hero roots band, without co-leader Jay Farrar, who abruptly left last year. With Jeff Tweedy running things on his own, Wilco uses its debut album to vent the confusion and hurt left in the wake of a breakup.

If “A.M.” is addressed to a romantic partner, it’s running in reverse through the Tunnel of Love. But Tweedy’s songs are broad enough to apply to any kind of relationship. His dissection of dissolution has a compulsive ring, but his nimble word-craft suits the organic flow of Wilco’s country-shaded folk pop.

The album begins with Beatles buoyancy and Stones stomp and progressively winds down into pure inertia. Seeking control in a situation that refuses to be controlled, Tweedy injects a melancholy edge into even the brightest of the songs.

When he sings, “It just shouldn’t ever have to be this hard,” the personable intimacy of his dusky, vulnerable voice easily compensates for the album’s austerity of expression.

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).