18+ – the dark, underground R&B duo of Justin Swinburne and Samia Mirza – initially existed anonymously, issuing their music under pseudonyms and adopting hyperreal avatars in place of conventional press photos. Following a series of gallery performances at places like the Venice Biennale and the Frieze Art Fair, Swinburne and Mirza finally put their identities in the public domain for their debut album, the excellent Trust in 2014. The album explored this intersection between private and public life in a hyper-connected world, a theme that they continue on new album Collect. But this time there’s an even more aggressive slant to their work, with the duo inserting invasive phone call recordings into the album alongside field recordings of their immediate environment.

“Looking back, we used this album as a platform to discuss romantic, business, and platonic relationships in our lives, sometimes using one to discuss the other, in an indirect manner,” the band tell us over email, “We’re heavily documenting our lives throughout the process so there is also an aspect of sampling sounds from our environments, devices, and people close to us, which suggests our own self-surveillance.”

The new video for album standout “Gliders” blends appropriated images of an American football team, foot massages, and mobile phone footage of the band on-stage. Yet the result feels intrusive rather than intimate. “With ‘Gliders’, we look at the contrast between our live shows and the idea of preparing ourselves for them,” they explain. “Much in the way an American football team trains for their games, we rehearse, (and) indulge in comforting behavior like bubble baths and massages while waiting around for something to happen. We check our email while bathing, we make jokes while giving massages. These are the people behind the scenes. We contrast this with flattened images of us on-stage displayed through screens. ‘Gliders’ serves as an anthem – lyrically the song builds up a personality, event, and relationship. The whole thing is like a game.”

Watch the video above.

Houndstooth released Collect on May 20