Ryley Walker emerged in the early 2010s as one of indie-rock’s most exciting guitarists—a malleable player capable of intricate baroque-folk fingerpicking and jazzy solos. But in recent years, he’s grown frustrated with his image as an acoustic jammer, and he’s aiming to redefine himself on his fifth LP, Deafman Glance —emphasizing tightly knit song structures over improvisation. It would be unwise to expect a traditional singer-songwriter album; that description hardly reflects the album’s dazzling stylistic breadth. Enlisting former Wilco multiinstrumentalist Leroy Bach (who also helmed 2016’s Golden Sings That Have Been Sung ) as his coproducer, Walker seamlessly flows from lightly psychedelic indie-rock (“Telluride Speed”) to bewitching ambient folk (“Can’t Ask Why”) to an eyebrow-raising concoction of jazz-pop groove and dissonant noise (“22 Days”). And his arrangements are more vivid than ever. Just take opener “In Castle Dome,” a breezy electric-guitar daydream that blooms with vintage synths, “Strawberry Fields Forever” mellotron and woody double-bass. The reference points are so scattered, it’s hard to keep track of them all: His guitar work can morph from Pentagle to Steely Dan to White Denim at the drop of a chord, and his half-sighed vocal style still recalls Beck in Sea Change balladeer mode. It’s ironic that Walker wanted to tame himself on Deafman Glance — in reality, he’s expanded his range.