Sandwell District’s End Beginnings is an album shaped by both reunion and loss. The techno collective of Regis (Karl O’Connor), Function (Dave Sumner), and Silent Servant (Juan Mendez) had been disbanded for nearly a decade due to O’Connor and Sumner’s volatile relationship before the pair reconciled in 2022. Inspired by the re-release of their 2010 debut album Feed Forward, the trio embarked on a new album, but Mendez’s tragic passing in early 2024 left the remaining two to complete it without him. Its title, borrowed from an unfinished art piece he had been working on for the cover artwork, now resonates with a haunting prescience. Despite its melancholic undercurrent, End Beginnings remains a dance-floor-oriented record, balancing frenetic, industrial energy with introspective depth. “Dreaming” establishes an icy, atmospheric landscape filled with churning percussion and wisps of spectral vocals, while “Citrinitas Acid” unfolds into mesmerizing, acid-laced electro. The album’s collaborative spirit, a hallmark of Sandwell District, shines through contributions from Mønic and Rivet, who appear on all eight of its tracks. Other features include Rrose, who guests on the urgent crescendo of “Self-Initiate,” and Sarah Wreath on “Least Travelled,” where guitar strums reverberate over a deep bassline that conjures the unease of wandering down a dark alley. “The Silent Servant” doesn’t close the album so much as leave it lingering. Beneath its metallic techno and orchestral synths, white noise sweeps by like gusts of wind on an overcast day—a poignant and final farewell to a friend.