On their eyebrowraising fifth LP (including Workout Holiday which was not released in the U.S.), 2011’s D , White Denim captivated critics with their left-field confluence of bluesy Southern rock riffs, progressive song structures and jazz chops. They’ve softened their insanity on subsequent albums, but what they’ve lost in zany shock value, they’ve gained in sturdy songcraft. Performance , their eighth album, is their second since the departure of two crucial members from that breakout period: guitarist Austin Jenkins and drummer Josh Block, both of whom left to work with R&B newcomer Leon Bridges and create their own production company, Niles City Sound. White Denim’s lineup has proved to be a work in progress ever since, and two new faces— drummer Conrad Choucroun and keyboardist Michael Hunter—join for this nine-track, 33-minute set, which focuses largely on deftly arranged blues-rock. More than ever, singer/ guitarist James Petralli sounds at ease in that role, howling with the raw power and charisma of The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach on the sax-laden “Magazin” and funky “Fine Slime.” There are fewer surprises and left turns on Performance , but the proggy flourishes that pop up carry as much jolt as ever. “Double Death” morphs from a swampy, harmonica-sounding guitar riff to psychedelic vocal effects and jazzy guitar breaks; the stuttering “Moves On,” meanwhile, packs a stoner-rock edge to its bluesy riff. It’s hard to root for White Denim’s weirdest, most unruly side—after all, no other band on the planet could have created an album as preposterously riveting as D . But it’s also a blast hearing them refine and sculpt a more measured method of madness.