It probably goes without saying that if you like The Necks previous records, you’re going to like ‘Travel,’ too, guaranteed. It’s a familiar sound but the songs will still take you on an engaging journey where you’re not sure beforehand where they wind up.

With ‘Fractal Sextet,’ guitarist/composer Stephan Thelen doesn’t necessarily introduce new ideas, but he takes good ideas he already developed and puts them into a new framework. That makes the music that resulted from this sound just as fresh.

With a prepared piano, Satoko Fujii once again makes “music that no one has ever heard before.”

Dave Seidel’s ‘Involution’ adds color and texture to minimalism in such an inventive way.

Hypnotic as background music that becomes compelling with deep listening, ‘Tranceportation (Volume 2)’ continues a match made in heaven between Sonar and David Torn.

Every Necks album is a plot twist in a long-running musical riddle, and ‘Three’ keeps the story very much alive for one of the most singular bands in contemporary music.

The marriage made in heaven between Swiss minimalist specialists Sonar and master texturalist David Torn continues with ‘Tranceportation (Volume 1).’

Sounding very much like themselves while incrementally reinventing themselves, The Necks’ constant tweaking of their formula keeps the music fresh and full of fascination. ‘Body’ nudges the band forward on their long, highly rewarding journey.

Dauntless musician Rhys Chatham’s ‘Pythagorean Dream’ is an avant-garde minimalist’s dream come true.

These three extended pieces take minimalism to exotic – and redemptive – places