When Lower put out their noisy spurt of an EP, Walk on Heads, in 2012, it seemed Copenhagen’s scene of downer punk had successfully infiltrated our conception of hardcore (or perhaps, revitalized its original subversive nature). After all, New Brigade, from scenemates Iceage, came out just a year before to much acclaim. While the Danes’ influence seems questionable now, Lower’s full-length debut, Seek Warmer Climes (Matador Records), sees the band departing from the swift pummel-and-bash hardcore of their EP, instead delving into unrealized melody and dissonant arrangement.

While Walk on Heads favored punk of a downtrodden, yet straightforward, vein (think a less melodic TSOL), Seek Warmer Climes attempts to be more extravagant. In doing so, it ultimately ends up being a drawn-out dilution of its predecessor. No song on the full-length matches the brevity and intensity of that first EP, and you won’t find any anthems on the level of that record’s “Escape” here. In that four-song sprint, Lower was purely unabashed, the very reason why it resonated so well. As they look to expand their sound on Seek Warmer Climes, it becomes more difficult to take anything away.

If anything’s maintained between the EP and this album, it’s that Lower can be a bit of a downer. The aforementioned “Expanding Horizons” speaks to this, as does the analysis of keeping social face in “Unkempt, Uncaring.” It’s often hard to pinpoint exactly what Toubro’s singing, but by composition alone (the stuttering, descending guitar line of “Tradition,” in particular), Seek Warmer Climes is objectively dreary, forcing the listener into a bout of self-reflection. As such, Lower’s subject matter seems to necessitate the aggression of Walk on Heads rather than the attempted alterations heard on Seek Warmer Climes.

Seeking melody and hooks, Lower’s focus has turned to a post-punk realm, and this approachable direction has yielded a mostly watery product. Sometimes it works, as on the hard-hitting “Lost Weight, Perfect Skin” and in the enchanting chorus of “Soft Option.” The obvious centerpiece is the 7-minute-plus “Expanding Horizons (Dar es Salaam),” a constantly disintegrating piece that channels a sense of disillusionment into an utterly exhausting listen. That is largely how the album plays out, with little exception. In this respect, Seek Warmer Climes truly becomes a pick-and-choose record, worth a glance but not a full read-through.