On their self-titled first album, Zac Steinman and Sam Haar offered a heady but rhythmically precise blend of ambient, techno, and house sounds. But for their follow-up, Swisher, the New York City duo amp up the exploratory tendencies and jump the rails, heading into more atmospheric, less linear realms. That's not to say that much of Swisher doesn't revolve around danceable beats, but this time out Blondes seem to have more in mind than the dance floor. Tracks like "Andrew" and "Poland" have moments that wouldn't sound out of place at a club—but anyone trying to dance to the ecstatic electronic explosions of "Rei," the robot sonogram "Wire," or the tumbling, cinematic opening cut, "Aeon," will face an uphill climb. Equally influenced by the German synth masters of the classic Krautrock era, the chill-out charmers of the '90s, and the muses of the moment, Swisher shows Blondes' knack for being both beatwise and bewitching: sometimes alternately, sometimes simultaneously, but always at just the right moment.