On their second single this year, “The Brighter the Light,” the Juan MacLean continue to move away from the clandestine disco-pop of their early work for deeper, more club-focused moods. The new track is a classic New York house song—featuring a spaced-out, arpeggiated synth groove in the style of Frankie Knuckles and a joyous piano melody. The percussion is especially crystal clear, and the clean lines establishes John Maclean and Nancy Whang’s honed efficiency. Though, there are signs the coziness of their 15-year partnership has made their tracks feel too easy: Whang’s splendid voice only appears here as a flickering shadow of a sample, and the track struggles to maintain its jubilant energy across eight minutes. But, the Juan MacLean have always executed their tracks with precision and tasteful panache, and the practiced skill exhibited on “The Brighter the Light” is no different.