There’s plenty on The Avalanche, though, that’s straightforwardly devastating. “Dead For Days” and “Mom and Dead” both seem to reference the death of his father and a hard parental relationship: “The only thing I learned form that man / Is I’d rather be estranged than next of kin,” he sings on the former. On “I Should’ve Known”, his vocals are upfront in the mix over twangy, circular, open-tuned guitars, as he begins the song by making a lewd joke and immediately apologizing. On upbeat strummer “On With The Show”, he facetiously sings, “So on with the show / I’ve got a reputation of fucking up to uphold,” the best embrace of imperfection this side of Sarah Shook. He waxes mostly on his shortcomings–as a person, as a partner and a family and band member–with pristine self-awareness. “Dear Lord / Let me be anything / But bored or in love,” he sings on opener “A New Muse”, as if there’s any other state. Fading and whirring production courtesy of Bon Iver’s Sean Carey proves to be a great match, as do guest vocals from Now, Now’s KC Dalager, but Kinsella’s truly at the center with words equally funny and cringe-inducing. After all, it’s always been the project where Kinsella’s best able to add a layer of lushness and delicacy to otherwise complex arrangements, and on The Avalanche, such instrumentation and composition is coupled with stark and heavy lyrics about self-worth. Today at 2 PM CST, Owen’s Mike Kinsella is doing a Reddit AMA on r/indieheads (his Reddit username is I imagine that many of the questions will be about his just-released new album The Avalanche, his first proper Owen record since 2016′s The King of Whys. As the last few years have seen Kinsella preoccupied with beloved band projects like American Football, Cap’n Jazz, and Joan of Arc, a new Owen album is a welcome respite.