Houston native David Anthony Burke has cut a shadowy, intriguing figure as d4vd over the past several years with a series of EPs that reflected the slippery lack of sonic boundaries that have marked alt-pop in the 2020s. His proper debut album, WITHERED, takes that impossible-to-pin-down tendency even further than before, with striking and surprising results; over the dusky dream pop of “You Left Me First,” Burke captures the weightlessness of Cigarettes After Sex, while the tangled guitars of penultimate track “Ghost” recall the dusky gothic indie rock of iconic indie label 4AD’s early years. A few notable guests pop up on WITHERED—Latin-pop polymath Kali Uchis lends her vocals to the lush “Crashing,” while songwriter Ryan Tedder (Beyoncé, Adele) throws in on the swirling “Is This Really Love”—but the album is first and foremost a showcase for Burke’s sonorous vocals, as well as an undeniable point of arrival in the field of left-of-center pop music.