And rarely do I EVER listen to a complete downbeat “indietronica” record – but this one got my attention and latched onto my brain. Trevor Powers wrote and recorded these tracks after finding a trove of his family’s home video in his parents’ basement. The audio from those videotapes is often prominent on the album (including the voice of toddler Trevor), which features mostly downbeat and mellow tunes but with a few louder cuts. Even the singing sounds like ambient techno. It’s musical voyeurism, kind of like watching your new neighbor’s home movies while listening to Portishead.

Not unlike Valerie June, Autumn has a voice that croons and yodels with endearing passion. The refrain of “Electric Lizard” is a major earworm – she repeats the line “My fucking lies!” until you just have to believe her. Simple country arrangements with banjo and guitar, a country twang in her voice, and authenticity for miles. (This is an EP technically, but I’m throwing it in anyway.)

Kirwan joined Fleetwood Mac to add a third guitar (along with Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer) when he was just 18. For over four years, he added a distinctive tremolo sound to the early recordings of the legendary British blues-adjacent band. This lengthy anthology features songs that highlight Kirwan’s contributions. You might recognize “Bare Trees,” but other than that these are mostly deep cuts that only big fans from the early days of the band will know.

Segall has “tried on” many genres over the past decade. This is the only album that has turned me on, a sort of pop-proggy thing that reminds me of Utopia and other Todd Rundgren stuff. Catchy riffs and lyrics. Unfortunately, when I went to see him, his show barely touched this album, and instead he mostly played grungy guitar hero stuff. Which, in Segall’s case, is not bad – but not as interesting.

Welles released TWO great albums this year. I prefer “Pilgrim.” He’s a gifted lyricist, adept at turning a phrase and sneaking in a rhyme. “I better get to work, ‘cause my boss is a jerk, and bein’ alive costs money.” Ain’t that the truth! Gotta love that smoke-filled, craggy voice too.

Nobody crafts more touching, exciting, vibrant Americana rock music than Big Thief. It feels like we’re inside Adrianne Lenker’s heart when she reminisces in “Incomprehensible” and “Los Angeles.” We touch her pain in “All Night All Day” when she sings, “Swallow poison, swallow shit, sometimes it tastes the same.” The music is compelling and psychedelic – the live performance of “No Fear” at the Greek this summer was one of my favorite live moments of the year. I can’t say enough good stuff about this record. It kicks ass.

The New York Times decided to have fun reviewing new albums by both Geese and Goose in the same article recently. There’s no contest here for me. (Goose is awesome live, but the album is a mixed bag IMO.) I stumbled onto Geese opening for Spoon a few years ago, and I was bummed I’d missed the whole set. Singer Cameron Winter has one of the most distinctive voices in rock, kind of like a bastard lovechild of Lou Reed and Captain Beefheart. Once you get past the noisiness of some of the arrangements (and I often like “noisy” anyway), you’ll appreciate the creativity.