The Mars Volta, “Que Dios Te Maldiga Mi Corazon.”

The Mars Volta took a decade-long hiatus between albums and made its triumphant return last year. Just a year later comes a collection of a dozen reworked acoustic tracks. Titled Que Dios Te Maldiga Mi Corazon, which roughly translates to “hope God curses you, my sweetheart,” the album takes the duo’s members to their Latin and Caribbean roots and serves as a folk record with strong political overtones.

Tracks like the opener “Blacklight Shine,” from the 2022 album, are redone with traditional Latin and Caribbean arrangements of fingerpicked acoustic guitars and raw percussive rhythms. “Graveyard Love” is stripped down to its core, becoming a rhythmic salsa-like number. Vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala’s voice moves to the forefront, pushing into the upper reaches of his range. The reworked “Shore Story” used to be a slower ballad, and here it speeds up slightly in a piano-driven Latin jazz arrangement. The quick percussion provides the pulse.

Later in the album, “NoCaseGain,” gives off a similar vibe.

On “Blank Condolences,” the original song’s personality is maintained while still pushing toward something new. The influence of percussion weighs heavy; the steady and subtle pacing helps project the life and emotion of the song. The reworked version offers up three distinct rhythmic changes within its three-and-a-half-minute time frame.

The title track might be the most striking work on the album. It’s a piano-driven soundscape that sounds plucked from a thriving street performance. Bixler-Zavala’s voice is the anchor and the music is the vessel, pumping the energy through the punchy track.

On other tracks, the changes are less dramatic. The band has said the goal was to put aside the distortion and noise that can sometimes work as a mask and leave space for the core of the song and its message to shine through. This shows on the acoustic “Vigil,” which feels like a natural complement to the original song.

“Cerulea” is dark and dramatic, with a more pained vocal melody.

The band offers a spacious take on “Flash Burns From Flashbacks,” with handclaps or castanets and a lightly strummed acoustic guitar providing ample room for the music to breath, and Bixler-Zavala’s vocals are soft and intricate. “Palm Full of Crux” is one of the few tracks on the record to strip the percussion entirely, leaving just a couple acoustic guitars.

That theme continues on the soft and sweet “Tourmaline.” If there’s a downside, it may be that these 14 tracks start to blend a little toward the end, adding an element of predictability. Still, the material rules the day and tracks like “Equus 3” exude so much passion for the craft. The record closes on a high note with energetic takes on “Collapsable Shoulders” and “The Requisition.” There is a uniformity to the instrumentation throughout the album; the band sounds consistent, and these complement each other, making Que Dios Te Maldiga Mi Corazon feel complete.

Follow writer Mike DeWald at Twitter.com/mike_dewald.