19 episodes into M7. Oh hey, I just realized that worked as an abbreviation.
There's definitely a shift in vibes once episode 17 hits. A new post-OP crawl that both recaps events and offers some exposition on details that'll likely help going forward, and a new antagonist with no machine at all in Sibil who's directly reacting to Basara's music and heckling City 7 like a magical girl villain.
The music having explicit magic properties will likely get as obnoxious as the repetitive use of Planet Dance, but I'm more annoyed with how Gamlin goes and gets Milia's VF-1 destroyed in battle, meaning Milia and Mylene are likely never going to be combatants for the rest of the show. Doesn't help that they're making lighthearted jokes about Mylene sitting on the sidelines making coffee for Gamlin.