The magic of Diving Rings, the debut album from New York-via-Athens, Georgia dream pop band Night Palace begins with Avery Draut's songwriting. At their core, Draut's tunes intertwine gentle hooks and smart melodies that shift in unexpected ways. Even if they were stripped down to more spartan arrangements, songs like "Jessica Mystic" or "Nightshade" would still be captivating for how effortlessly Draut ties together her free-floating vocal lines. The distant sweetness of "Into the Wake, Mystified" calls to mind both the indie pop catchiness of Alvvays and the auras of less earthbound performers like Jane Weaver or Cate Le Bon. An album of songs this strong presented in a straightforward rock instrumentation would be fine on its own, but Diving Rings digs deeper through exploring ambitious chamber pop arrangements and left turns into moments of smooth sophistication. This can take the form of the fantastical string section that shows up in "Enjoy the Moon!" (a song that sounds like a lost Pet Sounds track played by Broadcast) or the slick sax solos, mystical woodwind sections, and coy synth sounds that appear out of nowhere intermittently throughout the album. There's also a wealth of psychedelic guitar tones and colorfully warped processing that reveals itself with multiple close listens. "Stranger Powers" is so catchy and driving that it's easy to miss the small changes in reverb tonalities on the backup harmonies or quick switches between guitar sounds. Diving Rings would be a great debut even without its intricate layers of sound and impeccably detailed arrangements. With all the extra attention paid to subtle production choices and a ceaselessly evolving flow that carries through the entire album, Draut and her collaborators push Diving Rings past being simply a solid record to create a weird and exciting dream world that doesn't fit neatly in any dimension other than its own.