In 2018, Moaning emerged as a fully formed post-punk behemoth. The LA-based trio was bred in DIY venues, honing in on a modern goth update on traditional ’70s and ’80s post-punk. Their self-titled debut LP recalls a concoction of Television and Siouxsie & The Banshees, and on their second LP, they shed some of those more obvious tropes in favor of something more original and enthralling. Uneasy Laughter is at once more streamlined than its predecessor and more complex. Pascal Stevenson’s basslines now coil around Sean Solomon’s vocals without ever suffocating the darkly observant lyrics. “We used to care, but we forgot,” he sings on the album’s opening track “Ego.” Later, he adds, “Narcissism is not empathy.” Drummer Andrew MacKelvie’s performances here are more often programmed than not, but the sterility of the electronic percussion lends the album an air of foreboding.