David West isn’t one for settling down. The native of rural western Australia spent time in Perth and San Francisco before moving to Melbourne and then New York. Musically, he has played with post-punks Rank/Xerox, the more melodic and jangling Rat Columns, and the dreamy electro-pop outfit Lace Curtain, who had a 2013 single on DFA Records; there’s also the eclectic experimentation of his solo outings, most recently with the new LP Peace or Love. Meanwhile, West’s best-known work might be with new-wave deconstructionists Total Control, whose members also play in bands like Eddy Current Suppression Ring, UV Race, and Dick Diver.

Whew. For all that, “Cold and Blue,” from West’s first LP as Liberation, which arrived in June, is as focused as West’s output to date had been itinerant. With his fragile sighs set to insistent synth pulses and aching guitar reveries, the song aims for a certain “perfect pop” ideal—and lands gloriously along a line from Factory Records to Sarah Records to similarly prolific sadsacks like Shocking Pinks or American Wrestlers. The drum-machine snaps are a call to the dancefloor, but the lyrical narrative is fit for early-a.m. rides home: “This night feels like it already happened,” West murmurs. Based on the results here, nights like these should happen more often.