When 's debut album, , appeared in early 2020, its dissolving, disjointed songs embodied the disorienting feeling of the times almost too well. Somehow, is even more hallucinatory than its predecessor. Written and recorded during the darkest, most isolated days of the COVID-19 global pandemic -- and while singer/guitarist was mourning the loss of his mother to pancreatic cancer -- the band's second album uses their gift for otherworldly sounds as a conduit for complex emotions. may have been physically separated while in lockdown, but 's songs float and wander in search of connection even when it's impossible. Working once again with 's as producer, the band's transfixing sounds capture the instability of reality and the blurry meaninglessness of time in the wake of loss. Live drums push through the numbness and horror of grief on "Careful Let's Sleepwalk," one of the moments on the album that almost resembles a conventional rock song. Just a few tracks later, "Icing"'s flickering collage of ambient tones and wordless vocals threatens to fall apart completely. While making , namechecked and as inspirations, and echoes of both groups' brilliant use of texture and atmosphere lurk within the album. Dedicated to the late , "Heaven Chords" sways and shimmers like a lost track. On "Department of Blood" and "Ect Frag," which was pieced together from samples of vintage folk recordings, the band channels the crumbling, dystopian feel of early trip-hop to perfectly unnerving effect. As delicate as sounds, it's often warmer and more gripping than . When guitarist whispers "It's all right/You're here now" over weightless tones on "Where the Art Is Hung," it falls somewhere between eerie and reassuring, like a ghost reaching out to comfort someone who's still alive. Emotion swells up in surprising ways throughout the album, perhaps most movingly on "Susan Medical City," where the gauzy guitars surrounding as he sings "Mother, come back to me" can't alleviate his pain. Even more oblique songs such as "I Like What You Like" sustain 's unforgettably haunted mood, which along with its fascinating sonics, make it a significant leap forward from the already impressive . ~ Heather Phares