On 2008’s Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains, Grainger was still chipping off a bit of crust from his former project, Death from Above 1979. The distortion and grime gave way nicely to Bowie-isms and new wave power pop. Five years later, Grainger returns, still working in the same palette, and the crusty bits have all but vanished. Tunes like “Waking Up Dead” and “The Streets Are Still a Mess” exude a ‘70s rock feel (ELO, Mott the Hoople, Thin Lizzy) and have a surprisingly crisp sound. The guitar solo on the 3 A.M. dance-floor groove “Let’s Move to NYC” has a touch of Prince-style ego, while “Some People Are Ghosts Too Soon” is warm and heartfelt, with a big drum sound, a relaxed melody that shifts and cascades on smooth planes of synths, and Grainger’s voice at its best. It'd be interesting to see what this auteur would do with a genius like Richard Swift at the controls: someone to play off Grainger's own formidable talents.