7 Powers

In 2016 Trevor Powers wrote an open letter to fans explaining that he "ended Youth Lagoon because it became a mental dungeon, and I was its captive. My intention was never to keep it going – only to serve as a nod to the blooming years." Two years later, after releasing three albums of skewed, but grandiose and intimate, lo-fi indie psych-pop under the moniker, he returned with the course-corrective Mulberry Violence. Released under his own name, the ten-track set evokes its unsettling title, pairing sugary melodies with fractured breakbeats and intermittent bursts of electronic discord. Jettisoning the pop architecture of his Youth Lagoon days, Powers has distilled his angst into a highly concentrated sonic tonic that both delights and disturbs.

Shawn Lane's solo debut, Powers of Ten, showcases a phenomenally talented guitarist and musician who, unfortunately, doesn't seem to understand his own limitations. Emerging from digital silence with Steve Vai-like drama, "Not Again," the opening song on the record, is typical of the fusiony guitar-driven instrumentals that make up the bulk of Powers of Ten.