's 15th studio LP, follows an eclectic but synth-friendly album, , by nearly two years. Before that, 2015's took musical influence from '70s New York punk. Project leader continues a sudden but enthusiastic trend toward more synths here, on an album that was inspired by the '80s phenomenon of releasing extended dance mixes of pop singles, which one would only hear played in clubs. In a statement about the record, explained that they used the same drum sample packs across tracks to get a consistent and characteristic sound. While also continued to abandon a practice of recording with a live band -- one that may have ended with -- is joined on the album by some key long-distance contributors. (woodwinds, synths, percussion) is a former collaborator whose judiciously placed saxophone reinforces the '80s effect here, and touring bandmembers (synths, keys) and (drums) have been part of 's recording core for much of the 2010s. Still, as is often wont to do, doesn't sound quite like anything they've done prior, once one looks beyond its distinctively serpentine quality and ' calling-card loquaciousness. With reference to the latter, the album presents six over-five-minute-long dance-funk tracks with titles like "Paranoiac Intervals/Body Dysmorphia" and "Plateau Phase/No Careerism No Corruption." Lyrics grapple with sociopolitical and societal topics like intersectionality, gentrification, and online-only encounters -- to name a few from the slinky opening track alone -- as well as sex, drugs, and music. On "Plateau," makes hip-grinding choruses out of neurotic lines like "If we put our ear to the ceiling/We can hear the multiverse seeding/We can hear the simulation wheezing...." Accompanying arrangements are generally dense but melodic, often capturing a certain basement-club je ne sais quoi. Taken together, offers convoluted yet catchy dance-rock that lures with flamboyant basslines while reflecting a dancing-while-anxious Zeitgeist. ~ Marcy Donelson