The Mars Volta, self-titled,

If a reunion of The Mars Volta wasn’t enough of a surprise, the band’s stylistic direction for its first album in a decade may be an even bigger shock.  Omar Rodríguez-López and Cedric Bixler-Zavala challenged musical norms for years, creating highly conceptual and experimental records rooted in psychedelic punk before breaking up in 2013. In the years that followed, the duo worked together on a handful of other projects, culminating with At The Drive-In going on an amicable hiatus in 2018. That opened the door for this long-requested return.

The twist: The return comes in the form of a self-described “pop” album.

Don’t get the wrong impression, The Mars Volta isn’t packed with synth, big beats or club anthems. The pop influence manifests more in the accessibility in arrangements and melodies. The band kicked around the idea of a high concept pop record in 2008, before its break up, and revisited the idea more than a decade later.

Take opening track “Blacklight Shine,” a slick and suave throwback fusing a Latin flair with Caribbean rhythms, all filtered through a classic rock lens. The result is a masterful hook-filled track with the musical complexity playing more of a nuanced background role. “Graveyard Love” presents an understated mix of drum and bass beats crossed with synth flashes and keyboard melodies. Bixler-Zavala’s keenly dark lyrics provide an opposites-attract arrangement.

“How many times have we burned it all down/ Plumes of smoke call it graveyard love/ Walk behind me/ Walk these hallways again,” Bixler-Zavala sings.

The slow sway of “Shore Story” is built through its quiet backbeat, accentuated by moody keyboards lines and guitar effect accents. The band cited David Bowie as an influence on the record, and it certainly transports the listener back to that era. The melodic mid-tempo theatrics continue on the spacey flow of “Blank Condolences.”

“Vigil” provides one of the best glimpses into what The Mars Volta sound like in the pop realm, mixing bombastic vocal melodies and rock, which elevates it to stadium-sized proportions. “Qué Dios Te Maldiga Mí Corazón” may run just over 90 seconds, but it packs plenty of Latin-infused rock and roll punch into the small package. The track is a natural precursor to “Cerula.”

“If the walls we build come tumbling down/ And the love you failed to comfort comes back around/ At last I found my moment to fall apart,” Bixler-Zavala sings on the darkly melodic track.

Things pick up on the bluesy “Flash Burns From Flashbacks,” a guitar-heavy track that chugs forward with an urgent energy. The opposite can be said for “Palm Full of Crux,” which is rife with horns and plenty of multi-part harmonies. From a vocal standpoint, “No Case Gain” has some stylistic echoes of the band’s earlier work, making it anthemic and driving.

One of the record’s more intricate moments come with the subtle balladry of “Tourmaline,”  a highly atmospheric track steeped in brass and guitars. “Equus 3” is a bass-heavy stomper that crosses masterful melodies and vibrant production. Accessible melodic closer “The Requisition” may be most contemporary-sounding song on the album.

The Mars Volta’s pop move may not have sat well with some, but this self-titled LP is worth a listen. It’s not proggy and punk-sounding But it does take the band’s penchant for musical complexity with those genres and applies it here.

Follow writer Mike DeWald at Twitter.com/mike_dewald.