Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn, as alt-pop duo Sylvan Esso, don’t shy away from pain on OW ∞, their aptly titled fifth album. If anything, they tap into it—for fuel and inspiration, but also to challenge themselves when it comes to speaking intrusive thoughts aloud and accompanying them accordingly. Opposites attract here to great effect, as the never-ending wounds, emotional and otherwise, of OW ∞ are met with effervescent melodies and warm progressions, all with Meath’s voice serving as a healing balm, the spoonful of sugar that counteracts the bitter taste of truth. Songs about hard-partying escapism are met with utterly joyous, ‘90s grunge-adjacent riffs (“Hot Slob”); “Sledge” casts Meath as an “angel of death,” even as she effortlessly sings over one of the most enjoyable beats on the project. “Flood Season” invokes the climate catastrophes and existential dread of the current moment (“What's winning when it's all on fire?”), while “Good at Pain” speaks to the resilience required to face it: “Oh, baby, I'm good at pain/I was born through it anyway...I'm getting better every day.” OW ∞ proves that lovely, lilting chords and dark words can not only coexist, but complement each other—and that doing so can alleviate the pain of existing, even if just for a tune or few.