[Fans of Kraftwerk, Boards of Canada, and Mouse on Mars take note.]

Thirteen years after Andi Toma and Jan St. Werner formed Mouse on Mars, people hearing it for the first time still ask the same question: "Is this noise really music?" The mix of bleeps, blips, samples, and industrial grunts may not sound like music to everyone, but for those who do get this brand of electronica, Mouse on Mars is an institution. Their latest release, Varcharz, is further proof of that. Everything—from fugue-like organ breakdowns to what it might sound like if you dropped an empty beer can in a blender to chirping birds—can be heard in the album's nine tracks, where noise becomes very good music. Varcharz is closer to something you could dance to than any of Mouse's other work, and newcomers to the genre should even be able to get into some of these tracks, particularly "Skik" (Ode to Nintendo?) and "igoegowhygowego," which is, oddly, kind of a rock song. But fans need not worry—the German duo hasn't compromised anything for accessibility, and the album is a reminder that experimental electronic music doesn't have to be pretentious. It can be fun instead.