"As If Apart", the long-awaited sequel to Chris Cohen's 2012 soft psych garden of unearthly alter-pop earworms and studio-sonic delights Overgrown Path, follows on its predecessor with another bittersweet ensemble of dreamy, complex songs.

Pushing the idiosyncrasies of Cohen's melodic and rhythmic approach into even more fractured, shifting spaces, "As If Apart" unsettles lazy pop conventions, upending jaded heads and hearts with an expansive, moody psychedelia.

Where Overgrown Path plunged within, "As If Apart" voyages out. And up.