Los Angeles-by-way-of-Milwaukee artist Joe Wong released a new album a couple weeks ago. Blending elements of psychedelic and orchestral rock, the ten songs here teem with kaleidoscopic grandeur. Wong’s vocals reverberate across existential lyrical themes, building up hopeful crescendos into explosive displays that can’t shake a sense of doom and conflict, which is an entirely socially relevant approach to composition. The buzzes and hums of psychotropic guitar lines are complemented by whimsical piano phrases and symphonic splendor. Joe Wong’s “Mere Survival” is a sublimely chromatic exhibition of faith, curiosity and perseverance.