Growing’s first release for Vice Records is a testament to how far founding members Joe DeNardo and Kevin Doria have come from playing in an Olympia, Wash basement.

Since 1999, the now Brooklyn based trio has released a combination of almost thirty albums, EPs, seven-inches, LPs, bootlegs, cassettes, and double-cassettes. (Yes, cassettes — eight to be exact). They’ve changed their name once, joined forces with and said goodbye to drummer Eryn Ross, and in 2008, the duo became three with the addition of Sadie Laska.

Laska’s musical contribution to the band may be the driving force that alienates old fans with a disdain for progression, but her input is the reason Growing continue to evolve with the release of Pumps!.

With Laska — best known for her contribution to drum and bass group I.U.D. — at the helms of sampling and vocals, the band confidently executes rhythm based, glitchy, noise that could almost make you want to dance. In a genre that doesn’t exactly connect with the masses, certain moments have the potential to get Pumps! labeled as the band’s first pop album.

“Challenger” is the first example of that. From the first minute and a half, a hypnotizing, fuzzed-out, bass sample induces involuntary head bobbing. Soon, Laska comes into the mix with the song’s one word, warbled, “chorus.” (Is she saying “crazier?) Regardless, the song still sounds like something that could set the mood off right at any indie dance club, or be the next great sample on a hip-hop record.

One of the more enjoyable cuts, “Highlight”, is a great example of using the studio as an instrument. Growing utilize the tools at hand to produce a nice stereo mix of pulsating keyboard, subtle bass, intergalactic pings, and another mostly indecipherable vocal sample. They even manage to mix in some industrial drum and bass at the end.

While the 35-minute set doesn’t really push any boundaries or break any new ground, it does continue to explore the qualities that make the genre one of the most fertile grounds for sonic exploration. Even though the eight-song collection still comes off like a spirited genre exercise, it also comes with a handful of pleasant surprises. However, the biggest surprise will be seeing how the band polishes up this sound on their next album.