STS9 thrives on friction. This may be surprising coming from five musicians who think of themselves as a collective as much as a band. But consider the title of the California-based outfit’s long-awaited fourth album: Peaceblaster. The two words rub against each other to create an image that is simultaneously utopian and violent, fraught with the very contradiction that permeates America circa now.

Armed with a batch of song ideas and fueled by the tension of the times, the band (which in addition to Brown and Murphy, features percussionist Jeffree Lerner, keyboardist David Phipps, and Zach Velmer on drums) took a break from their masochistic touring schedule and holed up in their recording studio, determined to make the strongest album of their career. “The last few records, it felt like we were learning on the job,” says Murphy. “But the new record is the job.”

The result is a tour-de-force of gut-punching rhythms and textured, shimmering tones. The songs don’t seem to have been written so much as plucked from the sky. It’s as if the beats and melodies have always existed, just waiting for STS9 to channel them. That isn’t to say the recording process was easy. When this much passion and idealism is driving an album, arguments are inevitable. “Sure, we had little disagreements,” Brown says. “Bringing new ideas into the light of day is difficult—for musicians, politicians, everybody.”

“We’re five people with different tastes and styles,” says Murphy. “But ultimately we let the songs tell us what to do.”