Dissolution Wave, the follow-up to 2017's Time Well, is a less daunting listen despite its heady themes. It is a concept album about the aftermath of a catastrophic global event that destroys all of Earth's existing art and philosophy. This, for some reason, results in a world that runs on music-but not just any music. Something called the "Spire and Ward of Song" acts as a filter that only allows the "best material" to pass through and power Earth's rotation. Throughout the album, vocalist/guitarist Doyle Martin sings from the perspective of an asteroid miner who spends his free time writing music, honing his craft to aid his planet's survival. While some artists rely on A&Rs, friends, or their own ears to decide which songs are album-worthy, Cloakroom constructed a theoretical framework worthy of an Ursula K. Le Guin novel to get into a "bangers only" mentality. No lyrics sheets or in-depth interviews, however, are necessary to hear how the structural conceit affected their work. At just 37 minutes, Dissolution Wave is Cloakroom's shortest album by far, dwarfed by the hour-long Time Well. And while the band's signature sound is intact, these songs arrive at their climaxes more efficiently and offer more variance in pacing, volume, and tone. The opening "Lost Meaning" sets the scene with a single snare hit and a perfectly timed squeal of distortion, and boom, we're in the thick of the first verse. The subtle tweaks and tightenings make for a punchy album that still feels immersive.