If PINS' third album Hot Slick feels like the work of a different group than the one that recorded Girls Like Us and Wild Nights, that's not far off. Before making their first full-length in five years, the band parted ways with former bassist Anna Donigan and drummer Sophie Galpin, and the remaining members -- Faith Vern, Lois McDonald, and Kyoko Swan -- took the opportunity to remake their sound radically. Inspired by LCD Soundsystem, Suicide, and other acts with electronic underpinnings, they traded their gritty mix of garage rock and post-punk for a style closer to the glam electro pulse of Goldfrapp or the brash dance-punk-pop of New Young Pony Club. It's a big change from 2017's Aggrophobe EP, to say nothing of PINS' two previous albums. At times, the band's gamble pays off: Hot Slick's title track reunites them with the Kills' Jamie Hince, who worked with them on 2017's single "Serve the Rich." Hince knows a thing or two about fusing rock and electronic sounds, and "Hot Slick"'s driving grind feels true to PINS' past and present. Likewise, the band brings their music to the dancefloor with flair with the sneering vocals and hypnotic beats of "Ghosting" and "Bad Habit." "Ponytail" is more adventurous, boasting a thick, dirty synth bass and ricocheting percussion that make it one of the album's most forward-looking tracks. Unfortunately, Hot Slick's new approach doesn't always work. The album's stark production strips PINS' music of much of its mystery, and on songs such as "Daisies," the synths are tinny and the beats are stiff. The band's songwriting also feels less inspired; when they sing "Good girls they do go to heaven/That ain't where we are headin'" on "Bad Girls Forever," there isn't much muscle or heart behind it. The shift PINS made from their brash debut Girls Like Us to the more eclectic sounds of Wild Nights proved that they can change things up successfully, but it makes their lackluster transformation on Hot Slick even more head-scratching. While the album has some promising moments, after a five-year wait, it's a little disappointing.