Manchester trio Pins spent the first half of the 2010s as a four-piece who made drone-heavy indie-pop. Their second album, Wild Nights, was cooked up in Joshua Tree National Park, and stretched their hazy melodies out over landscapes of reverb. That was back in 2015; in the time since, they’ve changed their lineup, collaborated with Iggy Pop, taken on the production skills of the Kills’ Jamie Hince, and leaned heavily into disco and post-punk influences. The result is Hot Slick, a self-released album of 10 airy songs that hinge on earworm 1960s girl-group melodies and a new surge of bright-eyed synths.

The result is a revitalising jolt for the band. The girl-gang chants of Set Me Off and Bad Girls Forever are enjoyably defiant, and it’s easy to imagine a dance party unfolding when they eventually get to play the metallic sprawl of Ghosting live. Lead single Hot Slick is a stand-out track for its driving bassline and cheery harmonies; but the same song is also symptomatic of the album’s biggest flaws, with opaque lyrics that feel chosen for their cadence rather than meaning (“Lying in the sun is no fun for anyone”), and a Donna Summer-echoing melody. Much of the rest of the record also feels like a studied, careful tribute to the 1980s synth-pop sound pioneered by New Order. While the sound itself is an upbeat blast of air, it lacks the freshness of new ideas; instead, Pins create a fun tribute to sounds that have gone before.