Throughout his 15-plus years as a producer, Chris Clark has seemed to approach his music in phases. Intricate dynamism gave way to brute force; brazen pop mutations bred nostalgic meandering. So after the frigid, apocalyptic soundscapes of 2014's excellent Clark, "Peak Magnetic" should come as no real surprise. The lead single from the Berlin-based artist's next album for Warp, Death Peak, is brighter and more upbeat than he's sounded in a number of years, and its effusive energy signals what could be another shift in tone.

Equally notable is the presence of human voices. These aren't the pop experiments of Clark's past, though, but rather angelic textures that keep "Peak Magnetic" hovering just off the ground. As tumbling kicks and brittle percussion work out a simple dance beat, a chorus of synths and majestic voices lift the music higher, through twittering birds and craggy rock faces. It reaches a familiar summit, a place marked by the melancholic awe and unsettling euphoria that Clark conjures so well. No matter the aesthetic changes his music may undergo, the rich contrast of beauty and destruction is always at its heart.