Miles Whitaker (Demdike Stare) and Andy Stott are both well-known for a very dark, ominous and sometimes obscure aesthetic which is intellectually stimulating and occasionally emotionally draining. As Millie & Andrea, the two have collaborated on tracks which eschew the hauntological dub techno dread of their main projects to get really physical, dabbling in rhythmic structures or conventions outside their usual comfort zones.

These excursions are a lot more fun than you could say a lot of Modern Love releases tend to be, all amen breaks and crunchy, blown out sounds. The highlight tracks tend to move away from that base into stranger areas. The jarring changes and odd synths in “Corrosive”, for instance, ir closer “Quay”, a gorgeous coda composed entirely of field recordings.

Drop The Vowels is not a game-changer like Stott’s Luxury Problems and it is not a transcendent metaphysical treatise in sound the way some of Demdike Stare’s better material is, but it is a lot of fun to listen to. There are some catchy hooks and bass lines that will be stuck in your head for days. And hey it’s summer time, so isn’t that really all you need?

Drop the Vowels is available now on Modern Love