Passion

Two years after *Wonderland* blew the witchy sound of their early years to smithereens, Demdike Stare return even more forcefully: Their mixture of grime, dancehall, techno, and ambient sounds like a rave tape that had been buried for 30 years, dug up, and set on fire. After a dramatic noise intro, “At It Again” barrels ahead with jungle breaks, dub sirens, and white-noise blasts reminiscent of Pan Sonic; “Spitting Brass” smears grease all over grime’s brittle palette before “Know Where to Start” tosses the gritty, lo-fi UK style into a blender, shards flying every which way. But redemption comes with closer “Dilation,” a mournful nod to New Order at their most desolate.

Following 2016’s archival dives into early electronic music, the UK duo marries eerie abstraction to the club-ready rhythms of their Testpressing series with newfound fury.