Melbourne quartet Mildlife may set their sonic sights on distant cosmic shores, but they reliable explore those outer reaches with an unflappable sense of inner peace. Rather than stoke their improv-based jazz/funk marathons with disconcerting tension or paranoia, they glide from vista to glorious vista as if calmly making the rounds of their local roller-skate rink. And while there’s always plenty of delicious interplay between guitarist/flautist Adam Halliwell, bassist Tom Shanahan and percussionist Jim Rindfleish—see 2017’s disco fantasia “The Magnificent Moon”—synth player Kevin McDowell steps up to the mic often enough to add trippy vocal layers, whether swathed in vocoder or edging into dreamy falsetto. And on 2024’s Chorus, those surefooted pop elements sound more at home than ever in the ensemble’s fusion-friendly voyages. No wonder they sit at the forefront of a teeming Melbourne scene that includes fellow smooth-minded adventurers Surprise Chef, Glass Beams, and Don Glori.