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When a band is capable of many musical styles, it can be thrilling to hear them all on a single album. But it can be just as fun when the group dives deep into one mode, focusing their musical experience and artistic imagination into a coherent vision. That's how the Heliocentrics' fourth album, A World of Masks, feels. The UK-based ensemble, which has included up to nine members, has in the past delved into hip-hop (first making their name on DJ Shadow's 2006 album The Outsider), jazz, psych, funk, Afrobeat and more.

On an album filled with far-reaching travels, The Heliocentrics save their most expansive trip for last. Closer "The Uncertainty Principle" starts with a cloud of electronics and bass — as if the universe itself is slowly warming up — then hits an insistent pulse and a web of sun-lit sounds. As on all of A World of Masks, the band doesn't force its peaks; all the momentum comes from playing what comes naturally and letting the rest take care of itself. That patience is one of the Heliocentrics' many strengths, and A World of Masks showcases it perfectly. – NPR