In 2012, Hudson Mohawke and Lunice’s joint project TNGHT burst into the public consciousness with a singular goal: Write bangers. After months of building excitement off the back of a legendary live debut at SXSW, they released their beloved self-titled EP, bridging the gap between experimental club music and Southern hip-hop while inadvertently becoming standard-bearers for the burgeoning “festival trap” sound that had begun invading American EDM. With their eye-watering bass and surgical drum programming, TNGHT classics like “Goooo” and “Higher Ground” set a new watermark for such obnoxious, body-shaking tracks. Soon enough, big record labels began to swarm the duo like koi fish flocking to flakes.

Then, at the height of their influence, TNGHT hung up their hats until further notice, wary of becoming pigeonholed and unwilling to associate themselves with the “bro-ish” bombast of DJs imitating their sound. The break was inevitable; after all, TNGHT was always an outlet for HudMo and Lunice to embrace the base desires they rarely indulged in their solo work, a fun side gig where “first thought, best thought” was the undergirding principle. Now, at a time when electronic acts have grown increasingly obsessed with crafting imaginary worlds to contextualize their conceptualist music, TNGHT have returned with a new set of absurdist dancefloor weapons.

Irreverent fun is the primary ethos of II. Listening to the EP’s eight tracks, you can practically imagine HudMo and Lunice in the studio, cackling and egging each other on as they scroll through a software synthesizer’s tackiest presets: How ridiculous is that sound? Wouldn’t it be hilarious if we used that one? The stiff flutes and chintzy brass on the dembow cut “First Body” sound like they’re straight out of GarageBand, but in HudMo and Lunice’s capable hands, they’re warped into an addictive hook. Cheesy rave synths dominate the mid-album highlight “Club Finger,” which feels like a spiritual successor to their last pre-hiatus single (and arguably hardest-hitting tune to date), “Acrylics.” It’s obvious that TNGHT are no longer concerned with whether rappers (or anybody, for that matter) can follow along with these beats, which only grow increasingly erratic as II goes on.

Having opted out of the trap wave, the two producers now channel their experimental spirit into more varied tempos and genres. “Dollaz” is probably the closest thing to a pure return to form: A trunk-rattling sternum-shaker built around incessant vocal samples that lodge themselves into your brain. Elsewhere, they dabble in SOPHIE-esque distortion (“Gimme Summn”) and crushed trance breakdowns (“I’m in a Hole”). Much of the latter track, with its distorted subs and tight snares, is reminiscent of Kanye West’s menacing single “All Day,“ which HudMo helped get to the finish line during his time in the G.O.O.D. Music camp.

In the years following their break, TNGHT’s legacy was defined by their outsized influence on rap-influenced EDM, as well as another Kanye cut, “Blood on the Leaves,” the breathtaking Yeezus standout that sampled the duo’s unreleased song “R U Ready.” In comparison to II, the early releases now sound borderline ostentatious—not because they’ve aged poorly, but because hordes of copycats, from SoundCloud wannabes to soft-drink brands, have dulled the edges of a once novel idea. But that’s what happens when you’re an innovator; everyone tries to jack your style, even if they only scratch the surface of what makes you special, diluting the quality of the sound you pioneered. Released from all possible constraints—no obligations, no “scene,” no hype machine behind them—HudMo and Lunice are now free to pursue every imaginable whim. There might be no going back to 2012, but there will always be new ways to fuck up some nightclub speakers.