My releases are fairly few in number so far, but when I have released something cohesive it has generally been based around exploring a single idea in various ways, or a certain pairing of gear. I also think I benefit from working towards a fixed endpoint (like an EP release, for example) and then I am more inclined to use starting point sounds across those tracks to try and prevent any sort of whiplash feeling of change from one track to the next.
I’m currently doing mixing and fine tuning on a batch of four songs as I type, and I definitely hear a benefit to keeping some cohesion in this way.
That said, some of my favourite albums have massive changes in sound from track to track and I like them because of that, not in spite of it. It’s hard to say quite why though.