Vinyl Williams

Experimental pop has become pretty lazy shorthand for artists that aspire to sonic experimentation paired with pop hooks, or the aural descendants of Ariel Pink. Any way you shake it, Los Angeles artist Vinyl Williams fits both categories to a tee. Grandson of composer John Williams and son of a session drummer who's played with Air Supply and Crosby, Stills and Nash, 22-year-old Lionel Williams crams many ideas into his debut full-length. There's a swirling quality to all nine tracks on Lemniscate, sucking elements of shoegaze, Krautrock and psychedelia into the floating vibes. When it works, as it does on singles "Higher Worlds" and "Stellarscope," Williams sounds unstoppable. But he can let his everything-and-the-kitchen-sink approach get the better of him and songs disappear into the ether in the blink of an eye. "A beautiful mess" is the best way to describe this debut from a very promising new artist.