Brothers Howard and Guy Lawrence—better known as the duo Disclosure—are back with the follow-up to their Grammy-nominated Caracal. ENERGY is upbeat, catchy and aptly titled—even if Disclosure’s party music seems a bit out of step with the daily deluge of negative news.

The U.K. duo has worked with the likes of DJ Khaled, Lorde, Sam Smith and The Weeknd in the past; displaying an increasing influence within the pop, hip-hop and house-electronica scenes. However, with ENERGY, there seems to be an attempt to reconnect with the music that influenced the brothers’ earlier hip-hop work. The record includes the appearances of many legendary hip-hop artists, while Disclosure’s production is clearly influenced by the golden era of the genre. The duo didn’t do away with the house music undercoat, creating for interesting arrangements.

Opener “Watch Your Step” starts with snappy snare drum leads evocative of garage-house, accompanied with plucked synth and a distorted vocal performance by Kelis. It’s the archetypal house track to set the sanguine-party tone of the album. It’s immediately followed by the hot-and-heavy “Lavender,” featuring Channel Tres. The lyrics emphasize the flirtatious nature of the track, with repetitions of “Get closer baby” throughout.

Next is single “My High,” featuring guest verses from Aminé and Slowthai. While the instrumentation feels a bit tiring with a tempo that doesn’t have the same groove of the previous two tracks, Aminé and Slowthai save the track and ultimately make it a joyful experience. Each rapper delivers bar after bar, embodying the spirit of rapping as a party trick in the genre’s inception.

“Who Knew” opens with a hollow and muffled intro, establishing a cool and relaxing vibe. The beat maintains the high energy of the album but doesn’t command listeners to take to the dance floor—offering a respite to get a drink at the bar. The following track, “Douha Mali Mali,”demands your focus. Malian artist Fatoumata Diawara sings in her native tongue, expressing praises for her home country.

“Ce n’est pas” opens with rapid synthetic percussion and a groovy bass line melody. The song has a dated quality and is dotted with sounds reminiscent of older 808 machines on which early hip-hop tracks were built.

The title track serves as a thesis statement to the album as a whole. The lyrics convey an uplifting message of finding inspiration: “Now we goin’ to take it to another level/ Right now, you should feel invincible.” It opens with organic hand drumming, whistles and cowbell, giving it a distinct Latin sound. It progressively becomes more synthetic over time, starting with the introduction of synth organs and audio distortions.

“Birthday” returns ENERGY to the more traditional house roots for which the duo is known, with Kehlani and Syd of The Internet and Odd Future. The song follows a woman who weighs the social faux pas of calling an ex on his or her birthday to check in.

The hip-hop influences also shine through on the album’s two interlude cuts. “Fractal” and “Thinking ‘Bout You” are both traditional ’90s boom-bap instrumentals that would’ve made for excellent songs if given longer runtimes and guest rappers.

The album concludes on a departure from the garage-house aesthetic, with a more subdued and angelic number in “Reverie.” That song features a verse from Common; who just performed with John Legend at the Democratic National Convention. Common delivers a wholesome and uplifting verse about self improvement: “Slipped into a reverie/ I can see a better me/ Things that heavenly like love and melody/ To the heights of angels that dwell in me.” While thematically fitting, the track sonically doesn’t fit with the others on the album.

Overall, ENERGY is chock-full of nightclub hits that unfortunately won’t be put to use for the foreseeable future. In light of the chaos of this year, some might not be looking for songs that tell them to keep their chins up.

Follow editor Tim Hoffman at Twitter.com/hipsterp0tamus.