After recording their gritty, brooding debut album in their hometown of Perth, DICE graduated to Hollywood’s storied EastWest Studios—where The Beach Boys made Pet Sounds—for their follow-up. Tapping veteran producer Joe Chiccarelli (The White Stripes, Boy & Bear), the quartet make the most of that world-class setting by expanding the scale of their hooky alt-rock and adding a dreamy sheen of gloss to boot. That’s due partly to more pronounced synth melodies, and partly to frontperson Ben Hodge locating a cleaner vocal delivery to inhabit this poppier outing. Yet the band can still hit hard, evoking Gang of Youths on the galloping opener “Breathe” and carving out plenty of open space for Tom King’s buzzing guitar work to lead the charge on “Loose Change”. The Phoenix-esque “Footprints” and the ballad “Stars” also come out cleaner and more radio-friendly compared to Midnight Zoo, showcasing the softer side of Hodge’s lyrics and singing. When he confesses, “never thought we’d end up like this” and other lonesome sentiments on “Footprints”, he sounds newly comfortable with being vulnerable—and letting the words speak for themselves.