Unknown Component is the sonic manifestation of Iowa City singer/songwriter and home studio auteur Keith Lynch, a prolific, self-taught multi-instrumentalist (guitar, bass, piano, drums) who’s now released seven full-length albums since 2002 — and with two more still on the shelf.

Aspects of Cobain, Radiohead, Dylan and Lennon pop up throughout this ambitious, brooding song cycle, but Lynch’s poignant, adenoidal tenor, probing, intricately worked lyrics and distinctive phrasing uncannily recall (coincidentally, it turns out) the underrated master tunesmith Jules Shear.

The artist continues to expand his aural palette, minimizing the same-ness that plagues one-man-band recordings with well-placed variations.

All in all, it’s a powerful, deeply satisfying album; highlights include “Collections of the State,” “Future Circles,” “The Experience of Understanding” and the infectious “The Introduction Is Arriving.”

Unknown Component will perform Friday at the Blue Moose Tap House with Ames’ Crystal City, Bethann Gavin and Jon Eric (9 p.m., $5 cover).

– Jim Musser