The aforementioned lyrics of opener “Begin Now!” accurately convey the uncanny experience of pressing play on a beloved band’s first album in 27 years and feeling like no time has passed. From that song’s muscular playfulness, to the eerie “Advice From the Oceans,” to the horn-led ebullience of “Timewaster,” The Same Place greets us like an old friend, albeit one who was always weird and inscrutable. All of the OTC hallmarks are here—the pop instincts of 1996’s Music From the Unrealized Film Script: Dusk at Cubist Castle , as well as the sound collage overlays of 1999’s Black Foliage: Animation Music . As the album goes on, though, a subtle departure from OTC’s ’90s material comes into focus. It’s not the noticeable weariness in Hart and Doss’ voices, nor the introduction of slicker recording technology—it’s a constant, lurking sense of darkness.

There’s always been a roiling uneasiness to OTC.…