Mike Kinsella has received critical acclaim in recent years for the wildly successful reunion of his seminal emo band American Football—but he's a man of many projects, and Owen has always been his most strikingly intimate guise. The Avalanche is his tenth solo album under the moniker, picking up where 2016's The King of Whys left off by reuniting Kinsella with Bon Iver member and producer Sean Carey in the studio. Although Now, Now vocalist KC Dalager contributes vocals on multiple tracks, Kinsella is undoubtedly the centre of these nine serpentine songs, glimmering with his distinctively complex guitar work and his aching voice. Even at its most gorgeous, though, The Avalanche is unflinchingly honest as Kinsella muses on topics ranging from sobriety and self-doubt to the process of therapy—in other words, the kind of emotional nakedness that his long-time admirers have closely cherished.