On Arrangements, the fourth studio album by Preoccupations, the Calgary band achieves a perfect synthesis of its self-described "labyrinthine post-punk" approach: atypical rhythms; modular structures; chilly, subterranean textures; Mike Wallace's dynamic, punctuating drumming; the same-brain interplay of guitars, keys, synths, and effects between Scott Munro and Daniel Christiansen; Matt Flegel's raspy, oft-resigned snarl; and a penchant for melody that is simultaneously confrontational and captivating, lead by Flegel's expressive, bass-as-lead-instrument playing style borrowed directly from Peter Hook of Joy Division.

Joy Division is a large-share influence on Preoccupations, and its echo reverberates throughout the seven tracks on Arrangements. You can also hear traces of Wire, Sonic Youth, Bauhaus, and even early Police, whose influence is most evident on the album's second track, Ricochet. The bleak, grey-sky sonic DNA of Women, the band Wallace and Flegel played in before forming Preoccupations — then known as Viet Cong — is also unmistakably present.

Preoccupations seem to persist in an attitude of resistance, and a heavy, sometimes constant strain of ennui runs through the entirety of Arrangements. Asked to characterize the album's principal themes, Matt Flegel summarized, "It's basically about the world blowing up and no one giving a shit." A head-shaking ambivalence is palpable. Still, for all its bad-mood bravado, there is a vibrancy and a sense of purpose to these songs that, try as the band might, cannot be suppressed. Arrangements offers both a defining statement on — and an effectual antidote for — these downturned times.