Mars Volta, The - S/T

Reuniting after a decade-long hiatus/breakup, prog-pop adventurers the Mars Volta arrive at a distinctive new juncture on their eponymous seventh album. Less overtly wild than 2012's spacey Noctourniquet, this new set benefits from a more cohesive, though still progressive, sound that leans into jazz, funk, Latin, and soft rock. Joining co-leaders Omar Alfredo Rodríguez-López (guitar/producer) and Cedric Bixler-Zavala (vocals) are longtime keyboardist/percussionist Marcellus Rodríguez-López and, for the first time since 2002, founding bassist Eva Gardner. Completing this retooled lineup are newcomers Leo Genovese (keyboards, saxophone) and Linda-Philomène Tsoungui (drums), each of whom adds a bright, almost-tropical pop flair to parts of the set. From the cumbia-inspired opener, "Blacklight Shine," and the skittering "Flash Burns from Flashbacks" to the power ballad "Vigil," the veteran band sound confident and invigorated, adding another surprising chapter to a consistently eclectic c