The Taste of the Harvest Festival’s musical lineup has come a long way in recent years. Once a showcase for a local Battle of the Bands, this year a number of bigger Seattle-based acts, including indie country-rock headliners The Maldives and buzz-worthy singer-songwriter Shelby Earl, will close out a bill that also features local favorites Poor Folks, Live Well and Caffé Mela touring regular Camille Bloom.

Here’s a look at the latest albums from a pair of the festival’s bigger acts.

Camille Bloom

Camille Bloom’s official site brands her style as feisty acoustic rock, and on her latest album “Never Out of Time,” released late last year, the billing couldn’t be more spot-on.

Bloom is full of snarl on the album, aided by quickly stuttering acoustic guitar rhythms and clean-picked, dirty-toned electric guitar lines.

Album opener “Just Because I’m a Friend” is an immediate rush of that — plus an extra dose of attitude — and later on, the brooding, eastern-tinged “You Still Fall Down” runs its way through heavy interludes, only to fall off leaving you wanting more.

“Why” excels with subtle instrumentations, including chiming glockenspiel, mournful strings and a pulsing bass line that threatens to break out of the mix.

Though Bloom is clearly an acoustic-based artist, she doesn’t let that get in the way of a little heaviness — and it’s all for the better.

The Maldives

The Maldives are well known around the Seattle scene Seattle for their penchant of thinking big, whether it’s with their lineup (the current seven-member configuration is actually smaller than in previous incarnations), song lengths (most reach at least the five-minute mark), or their epic, head-spinning country rock sound.

“Muscle for the Wing,” their second full-length due out Oct. 11, maintains their large-scale style, but leans more on the rock side than their more country-driven previous efforts. The slight stylistic change suits them, and it’s not like the country has been completely dropped — banjo, twangy overdriven guitar licks, plucky barroom piano and Jason Dodson’s drawling vocals are still prominently featured.

The melodies on opener “I’m Gonna Try” don’t take long to bury their way into your head forever, while the catchy and riffy “Come On, Come On” appears to be an instant hit. The sprawling “Blood on the Highway” makes good use of quickly strummed banjo, multiple guitar tracks and drawn-out vocals, and the honky-tonkin’ goodness of “It’s Like, You Know” is playful without falling into the trap of being goofy.

Already established as one of Seattle’s best-kept secrets and one of its more reliable live bands, “Muscle for the Wing” has The Maldives threatening to break out to a bigger audience. Wenatchee just happens to be next.

Quick picks

Though most people may lament the end of summer, I relish the arrival of fall because the cooler weather lends itself to much more of my music library. I’ve been giving old standbys like Midlake and Ha Ha Tonka plenty of plays lately, but a bunch of recent releases, including popgrass superstars The Avett Brothers’ “The Carpenter” and dreamy synth pop-infused Twin Shadows’ latest, “Confess,” have been getting their fair share of speaker time.

Less in the “fall music” vein and more in the “just plain good” category, the single “Who” from the duo of Talking Heads frontman David Byrne and St. Vincent (a match made in weirdo heaven if there ever was one) keeps sneaking its way into my head on an hourly basis.

Another excellent new find is Seattle’s Deep Sea Diver, a band led by current Shins member and former Beck guitarist Jessica Dobson. Their 2012 record, “History Speaks,” is full of percussive, melodically-amazing, incredibly sung indie rock, with “Ships” and “Nwo” serving as obvious standout tracks. I’ve also heard the four-piece might be making a tour stop in Wenatchee in the near future, which would be as can’t-miss of a show as you can get.