Call me a sap, but this quote from Cullen Omori's bio hit me right in the heart: "I had this overwhelming feeling that perhaps the apex of my life both as a musician and as an individual would be relegated to five years in my late teens/early 20s." He's talking about his breakthrough with the Smith Westerns, a glammy garage-pop band that earned a fair amount of music blog buzz around 2010, released a few albums, and then fizzled out. Rather than allowing that fizzle to rule his music-making future, Omori channeled his interest in synths, sullen feelings, and shimmering '80s vibes into a new solo album released on Sub Pop. The wonderful dream-pop record, New Misery, spills over with sparkling hooks, but never quite sheds its sense of melancholy. If this is the direction Omori goes from here, he's going to be just fine. BEN SALMON