As if a new Braid record this year wasn't enough, Bob Nanna decides to drop La Vella on us and as expected, it's the lovechild of Braid and Hey Mercedes. Under the moniker The City on Film, Nanna's found an avenue to craft even more heartwarming and deeply personal music, and these 11 tracks don't disappoint.

He unravels neat blends of indie, punk and alternative which match up a lot to this year's No Coast. In fact, that's my one gripe with this album is that it comes too close on the heels of the last Braid record. But that said, it doesn't take away from the quality of songs like "Take The Ghosts" and "Remember to Breathe" which are much more gritty than Nanna's earlier 2014 work.

Throw in much more cerebral, deliberate and slow jams like "Easy Living Rooms" and "I Blindly" and you've got a more methodical and meticulous Nanna (especially in terms of writing). The '90s emo feels pretty well done here, as well. This album's stake as one of his best-written is reinforced when acoustic compositions like "Stray" and the closing "Andorra La Vella" hit. They're stripped down and driven by his unmistakable vocals, which are made for his fanboys to go bananas over. La Vella helps finish the year on a strong note and for those of us who were quite eager for this solo act to drop endearing, heartfelt jams, I'll bet the majority will be quite pleased. Honest, passionate and quite telling.