When 's and started making music together again following the death of former bassist , it wasn't just a reunion -- it was a reincarnation. Stripping away any lingering traces of ' mysticism, they dove deeper into the spiky dance music they hinted at on and especially the EP. On , the duo commits to this approach more fully and more widely. 's first album for proves that punk and electronic music can still sound dangerous and exciting when they're thrown together, largely because sound so excited to be combining them. Though they close with "Plastic" and "Imposter," a pair of ferocious bursts worthy of their earlier albums, they spend most of their time creating mutant tracks that sound equally at home in a mosh pit or at a rave. The raw electro bassline gives "Contortion"'s vampirish brooding a slinky backbone, but this juxtaposition is subtle compared to "Crassy Mel"'s improbable but magnetic mix of churning guitars, twisted fire-starting breakbeats, ambient breakdowns, and 's perma-sneer. Her voice is more prominent on than on any of 's previous work, heightening the volatility of moments like "No Fun," a tale of teenage car theft that's equally indebted to '90s trance and , or the dreamy acid reflections of "New York." channel the energy of the dancefloor not only with the album's tempos, but its rapid changes. Midway through, "Crash" offers a hypnotic respite and a statement of purpose: "Dance away yourself." also creates a distinctive sense of place on , widening "Modern Weekend"'s punk drawl with rapturous synths and the whoosh of L.A. traffic and satirizing the local music scene with "LA DJ," which throbs with the anticipation of waiting to enter the club and nails the details ("He's still playing /He's still playing "). move from idea to idea so quickly the album sometimes sounds more like a collection of singles, but there are so many standout moments that it hardly matters. This version of has energy, fun, and potential to spare, and confounds expectations thrillingly. ~ Heather Phares