Very few musicians have a career path like Mike Kinsella. As the drummer of Cap'n Jazz and the frontman of American Football, he's responsible for two of the most influential emo albums of the '90s (and of all time), and thanks to American Football's 2019 album LP3 (which we named the 17th best punkvalanche than on The King of Whys. In the past, mathy, noodly guitars were Mike Kinsella's calling card, but on The Avalanche, he takes a more simple approach -- strummy, folky guitars and textural atmosphere -- letting the lyrics do even more of the talking than you'd already expect from an Owen album.