Josh “Deakin” Dibb’s solo debut, Sleep Cycle, might not exist without its once-controversial Kickstarter campaign that launched in 2009. This year, the Animal Collective cofounder proved it was worth the money: a short, unhurried set of aqueous psych-folk, with loose and fervent moments that nodded to his main band but also delivered soothing, impressionistic mantras all his own. “It’s always ‘what if?’ and ‘why not?’/Man, you gotta just be,” he sang on “Golden Chords.” “Breathe out, you’re all right,” he urges on “Good House.”

Interludes based on street recordings from Mali contrasted even more with Animal Collective, especially Painting With, their hyperactive 2016 release without him. The comparisons to AnCo are unavoidable–but when Deakin pleads with a father for direction on “Just Am,” the record’s wobbly centerpiece—and a tough nod to the loss of his own dad, which caused him to sit out Merriweather Post Pavilion—it’s enough to be grateful that Sleep Cycle just exists. —Marc Hogan