The term “experimental” gets thrown around a lot, especially with younger artists who are hesitant to aim for anything on the genre dartboard. But after two fruitful decades cemented in the New York experimental jazz-rock scene, the label definitely fits multi-instrumentalist songwriter Marco Benevento. This oddball virtuoso has never felt comfortable sticking to one sound, so its no surprise that Benevento’s got some eye-opening grooves on his seventh solo album, Let It Slide.

Benevento tosses caution to the wind on Let It Slide, ditching his producer’s hat for the first time ever in favor of Lee Fields/The Arcs collaborator Leon Michels. The result is a baker’s dozen of eclectic styles, marked by Benevento’s care-free improvisation, a newfound devotion to lyrics, and a high enough production quality to rank among Aja and Dark Side of the Moon. Let It Slide is out as of last Friday, Marco Benevento kicks off a national tour next month, and right now you can jam out with “Baby Don’t Make Me Wait”!

–Jack Anderson