There’s a fine line between moving without a direction in mind and being directionless. Both routes are capable of yielding pleasant surprises, but only one will leave you feeling hollow and unsure. PEACE + WAR feels mostly directionless, full of fluorescent freakouts, head-scratching detours, and whispery meditations that bristle against each other. The songs that work best bloom patiently and methodically, using empty space as a tool and a weapon. Lead single “White Flag” opens spacious ebbs and flows between its breezy surf rock and punchy nightclub hysteria. That jubilant energy really comes into fruition on “Summer Song”—all BuzzBallz-glugging chimes, brisk snares, and sugary melodies—and “Mummy Daddy,” a smiley ode to gratitude and making your parents proud.

Even more affecting is “Happysad,” a heartbreakingly blunt meditation on mania. The gulfs between Maria’s plain, plaintive stanzas are filled with tender noise: warm, sustained synth notes, distant claps and taps, brittle harmonies.…