Wilco has come a long way since the Chicago folk-rockers hit the mainstream with 2002’s
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. But after a brief foray into chilled out ’70s-inspired stoner rock with
Sky Blue Sky and
Wilco (The Album), the band is back to their more experimental roots with
The Whole Love, a schizophrenic sound collage that shows the band at its most avant-garde in nearly a decade. Where the band’s last three albums used jazz-guitarist Nels Cline to their advantage,
The Whole Love has Wilco’s bit players shining through, with dynamic percussion by Glenn Kotche and synth riffs from Mikael Jorgensen. If this is dad-rock, I can’t wait to be a father.