Three stars

Indianapolis singer-songwriter Jeff Byrd’s lyrics are of the most interest on the 10-track Stereoville, skewed tales of small-town life that star characters more neurotic and flawed than any people on a Johnny Cougar record. Unfortunately, it’s occasionally hard to hear and follow Byrd’s voice on a tinny recording by a loose band — the music owes a lot to ’80s Midwest post-punk (The Replacements, some Husker Du), but it may be unintentional that the album sounds like an analog to digital transfer of a record by one of those bands. Available for free download at jeffbyrd.net.

Sounds like: BoDeans, John Mellencamp