Back when they were new wave’s hardest-rocking band, the B-52s threw down with such heady kitsch attitude that it took most of us a decade to process it. (B-movie, sci-fi, girl-group surf-rock about dance crazes and undersea life? Sure, now it’s obvious.) The weird energy dissipated through the rainbow ’90s; guitarist Ricky Wilson died of AIDS and the rest of the band found solace in shiny, happy, globally inclusive pop. On their first studio album in 16 years, the guitars are cranked to garage-level rawness, the long-missing Cindy Wilson is back sassing it up and the ultra-Caucasian, Paul Lynde sprechstimme of Fred Schneider comes with 30 percent more manic edge, redlining to the point of sometimes feeling forced. “Tentative—tentacles—are grabbing—me!’’ he raps. “We’re makin’ space love in ze-ro gra-vi-tee!” Best enjoyed in the privacy of home.

Download: “Pump,” “Juliet of the Spirits”