The
List – 2023
This was one
of those years, rare since 1990 or so, where a bit of ennui and exhaustion
moved in, and perhaps even more so than 2007-8 or 2013-14. This can be seen
statistically, as 2023 was a year with less than 150 or so significant albums
(in my eyes, at least), and also emotionally, as some artists’ works just
seemed tired and phoned-in. That’s not to say there weren’t great releases
during the year, and stellar live tours as well – Taylor Swift, Death
Cab/Postal Service, Caroline Polachek, etc. But after seeing musicians carry the flag
through the pandemic, it seems that many found 2023 a year where recharging was
necessary.
Part of the ~20% drop in streaming or
physical releases in 2023 can be attributed to the number of new artists
turning to TikTok as their sole platform for introducing new music. Because
TikTok’s algorithms are tuned to optimize only certain types of melodies
destined to go viral, the method seems too artificial to treat seriously, and
will be excluded from this list. But that raises the obvious question, what do
we do with music created by generative A.I.? We’ll defer on that question to
see if the human world survives long enough in the next couple years to make the
question worth answering. As for where streaming-only releases belong, note we
included SZA, Sylvan Esso, and Little Simz in this list, even though all three
were streaming in 2022, because the physical product came out in 2023. We’ll
opt for a similar delay for Andre 3000, but add as a teaser that few have tried
to use the flute in such an all-encompassing and exhausting way.
Deaths came fast and furious in 2023, at
least in the first half, and the mortality parade actually began on the last
day of 2022, when Jeremiah Green of Modest Mouse died, after the 2022 list was
released. Belated condolences to all, as well as those close to both Fred White
and Sheldon Reynolds of Earth, Wind & Fire; Overkill guitarist Sebastian Marino,
multi-instrumentalist Les Brown; Wrecking Crew guitarist Dennis Budimir; guitar
legend Jeff Beck; Elvis’s daughter Lisa Marie Presley; Robbie and Tim Bachman
of Bachman-Turner Overdrive; Van Conner, bassist for Screaming Trees; David
Crosby of Byrds and CSNY; Top Topham of the Yardbirds; Television founder and
guitarist Tom Verlaine; doo-wop singer Lillian Walker; GTR bassist Phil
Spalding; legendary pop composer Burt Bacharach; Trugoy the Dove of De La Soul;
soul singer Chuck Jackson; saxophonist Wayne Shorter; Pulp bassist Steve
Mackey; multi-instrumentalist and Jackson Browne compadre David Lindley; Lynyrd
Skynyrd guitarist Gary Rossington; novelty singer Jerry Samuels/Napoleon XIV; Derek
& The Dominos drummer Jim Gordon; singer-songwriter Bobby Caldwell; Mick
Slattery of Hawkwind; Fuzzy Haskins of Parliament/Funkadelic; Ryuichi Sakamoto,
founder of Yellow Magic Orchestra; Gentle Giant bassist Ray Shulman; Sire
Records founder Seymour Stein; Vivian Trimble of Luscious Jackson; S Club 7
singer Paul Cattermole; Kate Bush/Alan Parsons guitarist Ian Bairnson; jazz
pianist Ahmad Jamal; April Stevens, pop partner to Nino Temple; Otis Redding
III; Mark Stewart, founder of The Pop Group (followed by Pop Group guitarist
John Waddington); island crooner and actor Harry Belafonte; Mothers of
Invention drummer Ralph Humphrey; Canadian folkie Gordon Lightfoot; Bowie
backup singer Linda Lewis; Chieftains fiddler Sean Keane; Os Mutantes singing
legend Rita Lee; Jon Povey of Pretty Things; Andy Rourke, bassist for The
Smiths; country singer Ed Ames; early-days Beatles bassist Chas Newby; multi-decade
soul queen Tina Turner; jazz bassist Bill Lee; New Age pianist George Winston; “Girl
from Ipanema” crooner Astrud Gilberto; Groundhogs guitarist Tony McPhee; Urge
Overkill drummer Blackie Onassis; Butthole Surfers drummer Teresa Taylor; madcap
saxophonist and Heather Leigh collaborator Peter Brotzmann; Megadeth drummer
Lee Rauch; Journey guitarist George Tickner; French-English singer and actress
Jane Birkin; master crooner Tony Bennett; Irish lifelong rebel Sinead O’Connor;
Eagles founder Randy Meisner; Kinks pianist John Gosling; It’s a Beautiful Day founder
David LaFlamme; “Cha-cha slide” originator DJ Casper; comeback-kid singer Sixto
Rodriguez; Robbie Robertson of The Band; Pavement drummer Gary Young; Whitesnake
guitarist Bernie Marsden; Stars of the Lid founder Brian McBride; Chief
Parrothead Jimmy Buffett; Smash Mouth vocalist Steve Harwell; dreamweaver and
Spooky Tooth vocalist Gary Wright; jazz pianist and saxophonist Charles Gayle; crooner
Roger Whittaker; Marvelettes singer Katherine Anderson; The Association singer
Terry Kirkman; Meters drummer Russell Batiste Jr.; Isley brother Rudolph Isley;
jazz composer and big-band leader Carla Bley; Oklahoma power-popper Dwight
Twilley; Angelo Bruschini of Massive Attack; Stone Roses bassist Pete Garner; Dream
Theater vocalist Charlie Dominici; Mars Williams of The Psychedelic Furs; Killing
Joke guitarist Geordie Walker, soul singer Jean Knight, Pogues singer and bard Shane
MacGowan, former Cat Power guitarist Dan Currie, Del-Lords and Dictators
founder Scott Kempner, avant-garde minimalist Catherine Christer Hennix,
Colorado session guitarist Jim Salestrom, Myles Goodwyn of April Wine, South
African singer Zahara, songwriter and occasional Mother of Invention Essra
Mohawk, founding Dixie Chicks member Laura
Lynch, older and sillier Smothers Brother Tommy Smothers, …..
Yes, these lists will keep getting longer.
Regular Studio Albums, 2023
1. Squid,
O, Monolith – Even in a year when big-selling pop artists got deserved
attention, look who came out on top! The quietest member of the U.K. manic
bands slipped out a sophomore album that redefined hyper jazz-rock. A wonder,
start to finish.
2. boygenius,
The Record – North America (and much of the world, apparently) now loves
the super-trio of Baker, Bridges, and Dacus, and even if there’s maximum hype,
even if the late-fall EP wasn’t all that great, the full-length album deserved
all the attention it received.
3. Arooj
Aftab, Vijay Ayer, Shahzad Ismaily, Love In Exile – Even if you never
saw the live tour, these three provided an object lesson in chill floaty-jazz.
If you did see a live date, you know the album was no fluke.
4. Caroline
Polachek, Desire, I Want to Turn Into You -- The co-founder of Chairlift spent the entire
pandemic period assembling this magic piece, and released it streaming on
Valentine’s Day, only to see physical copies get delayed until November. Was it
worth the wait? Oh yes.
5. Olivia
Rodrigo, Guts – She may be a victim of overexposure, but anyone at her
age and experience who can put out a sophomore album stronger than the debut,
deserves every bit of hype she receives.
6. Jeremy
Facknitz, Smilin’ at the Future – It’s impressive enough that he sends
us up with more of the quality power-pop we’ve come to know and love, but
Facknitz also has the audacity in 2023 to write songs of hope – e.g., “Ste.
Genevieve.” The nerve of that guy, just when we’re all sulking.
7. Butterfly
Assembly, s/t – Lisa and Shannon McElvaney have been nurturing some of these
songs for years, and it shows, as each is a gem. Guest appearances from Joe
Johnson, Dylan Teifer, and the Bourgal Brothers guarantees a good time for all.
8. Mitski,
The Land is Inhospitable, and So Are We – Mitski can get lost in angst,
and is coming from a good 2022 album, but this one is sad and powerful beyond
measure.
9. Alternative
Communication, Afterword – Scottish duo Jeanette and Brian Kidd with old
friend David Reid comprise this trio, who make progressive-ambient music one
could genuinely call spooky.
10.
K. Flay, MONO – Flay has bounced between hard
pop and hip-hop for more than a decade, and has finally gotten the mix exactly
right. Jaw-dropping at times.
11.
Wednesday, Rat Saw God – The first new band in
the U.S. to match the mania and fervor of the British 2020-22 crop of
newcomers. Whenever Wednesday appears as an opening act, they blow the crowd
away.
12.
Lankum, False Lankum – I was quite embarrassed
to have just discovered this Irish traditionalist band recently, when they’ve
been the rage of Mercury Prize and Irish music awards for five years. This new
hour-long set dives deep into little-known ballads, but Lankum mixes them all
with a Pelt-style drone to give every note a greater significance.
13.
Sprain, The Lamb as Effigy -- How to even begin to describe Sprain?
Avant-classical? Spoken-word mania? Post-rock? Hot mess? In any event, in an
era where much of the improvisational noise of the early 2000s has faded, it’s
nice to know Sprain is around. (Apparently the band broke up in mid-October, so
it was fun while it lasted.)
14.
The Empty Pockets, Gotta Find the Moon – One of
Chicago’s more persistent bar bands went to Abbey Road to record some
originals, and damn if the effort didn’t pay off.
15.
The Kills, God Games – Never thought I’d call a
Kills album majestic, but there you go. Those of you who favor Alison’s side
projects like Dead Weather, really should go back to her O.G. efforts.
16.
Paramore, This is Why – O.G. Paramore fans might
consider this Hayley Williams’ sellout work, but really, it’s the strongest
Paramore album to date. So change my mind.
17.
SZA, SOS – Yes, it streamed last December, but
this was a 2023 album. Vast in its diversity of styles, it’s still more
mainstream than experimentalists like Solange or Janelle Monae.
18.
Jason Isbell, Weathervanes – Jason and Amanda
have been hit-or-miss in recent years, but this album starts with “Death Wish”
and then keeps on climbing.
19.
Peter Gabriel, i/o – Gabriel would be the first
to tell you that he’s aging, and is not going to pull off another So, at
least not lyrically, but he was clever enough to make the album release a slow
online process, and to offer “bright-side” and “dark-side” mixes of the same 12
songs. A cool experiment.
20.
The National, Laugh Track
21.
The National, The First Two Pages of Frankenstein – Yes,
chronologically the albums are supposed to be in the reverse order, but the Laugh
Track album released in November is the superior of the two, and actually
clarifies and improves the appreciation of the earlier Frankenstein.
Call it glum rock or dad rock, there’s still a lot going on in these tracks.
22.
Circus Devils, Squeeze
the Needle – Quite simply the best Robert Pollard release of the year, even
with three decent Guided by Voices albums.
23.
Bill Orcutt/Chris Corsano/Zoh Amba, The Flower
School –This might have been Top Ten simply for Orcutt and Corsano seeking
out the Tennessee saxophone goddess, but the length was more like an EP. Even
in a brief package, though, it’s amazing. The hyper-prolific Orcutt was going
to release an album on Christmas Day as a trio with two saxophonists, but we’ll
save that one for 2024.
24.
Pere Ubu, Trouble on Big Beat Street – Given how
sick David Thomas was during the recording of the so-called “Goodbye” album,
there was no reason to expect this album to exist, and even less reason to
expect how silly, joyful, and brilliant it is.
25.
100 Gecs, 10,000 Gecs – An experiment in Dadaist
consumerism, like Shopping or Pink Section, but with more electronic craziness.
26.
Lana Del Rey, There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Boulevard
– More of the fine songs that have characterized all her releases of the
last five years. This is Lana’s era.
27.
Little Simz, No Thank You – This fell through
the cracks between 2022 and 2023, another victim of the “streaming first”
philosophy, and that should never happen to Little Simz.
28.
The Aces, I’ve Loved You So Long – These four
L.A.-via-Utah women keep polishing their pop to reach this pinnacle where every
song on an album is memorable.
29.
The Rolling Stones, Hackney Diamonds – Believe
it! The octogenarians have squeezed out an album of original material that is
very good. Still won’t make me pay $1000 for tickets to the 2024 tour, but….
30.
Smoke Fairies, Carried in Sound – I’ve loved
this U.K. duo since seeing them open for a very young Laura Marling, and I’m
thrilled they’re still putting out music this good.
31.
Heavy Diamond Ring, All Out of Angels – Some
might say the Denver successor to Paper Bird gave us songs slightly more
ethereal than the debut album, but I’d say Ben Wysocki’s production more than
makes up for it.
32.
Anohni and the Johnsons, My Back Was a Bridge – Some
may find Anohni/Antony’s composition just too complex to flow smoothly.
Anohni’s complexity is a plus.
33.
Being Dead, When Horses Would Run – This band
brings back the spirit of ’66, not so much for the psychedelia or the informal
folk-like harmonies, but because it’s such fun pop.
34.
The Clientele, I Am Not There Any More – The
Clientele returns with an album perfecting their Kinks-like sound, and the
album nearly disappears from public view. That’s a damned shame.
35.
Mandy, Indiana, I’ve Seen a Way – This debut
album lets listeners experience the noisy, rhythmic presence of Valentine
Caulfield, who immediately makes you hope this band will be around for a while.
36.
Esme Patterson, Notes from Nowhere – Patterson
has married and moved to the Tennessee back woods, so you know this album was
bound to have a quiet and mystical quality. But the choir effects add a
suggestion of Laura Veirs, as well.
37.
P.J. Harvey, I Inside the Old World Dying – I
love spoken-word recordings, and I’ve always been partial to Harvey’s acoustic
work, but these poems puzzled me too much to place this album in the Top 10.
But hey, that’s largely my fault.
38.
Cherry Glazrr, I Don’t Want You Anymore – The
most moody and haunting of any Cherry Glazrr album, and Clementine Creevy
manages to wear that very well. Like The Kills, Creevy is taking her band to
another majestic level.
39.
Fever Ray, Radical Romantics – By far the most
fully-realized and interesting of the Fever Ray albums.
40.
Sylvan Esso, No Rules Sandy – Like SZA and
Little Simz, Sylvan Esso got hurt by the “streaming first” marketing mentality.
This sort of completes an album trilogy, and should rank higher.
41.
Mega Bog, The End of Everything – Even if her
stylings employ an excess of Broadway from time to time, Erin Birgy is a
genius.
42.
Free Range, Practice – Usually once a year, a
singer-songwriter newcomer comes out with an informal, minimalist album that is
a hidden gem. Sofia Jensen has given us 2023’s album.
43.
The Mountain Goats, Jenny from Thebes – Undoubtedly
interesting as a sequel of sorts, but still not one of the epics in the
Darnielle portfolio.
44.
Speedy Ortiz, Rabbit Rabbit – Sadie DuPuis
finally gets national recognition with a full-page New York Times
feature, and her band is back together too. Win-win.
45.
Nellie McKay, Hey Guys, Watch This! – When you
consider that this is McKay’s first album of new work in 13 years, and you
think of how monumental she was early in the millenium, it’s sad to see how
much she’s snubbed these days – particularly since her live shows are such a
pleasure.
46.
Meg Baird, Furling – More keyboard-centric than
in the past, which adds to the ethereal flavor.
47.
Algiers, Shook – One of their boldest statements
yet, particularly in the extended version. And who else is doing
gospel-punk-funk these days?
48.
Guided by Voices, Welshpool Frillies
49.
Guided by Voices, Nowhere to Go But Up
50.
Guided by Voices, La La Land – Seems like every
year, Pollard gives us three studio albums, which I lump together because I can
never decide which is on top. This year, Pollard’s Circus Devils album beat any
of the GbV ones. At least for now.
51.
Iris DeMent, Workin’ On a World – Probably her
boldest work since her marriage to Greg Brown, and now that Brown’s no longer
touring, she’s got some heavy lifting ahead.
52.
Margo Price, Strays – This early 2023 work got
mixed up with Strays II and Strays at Grimey’s, but in any event,
it’s one of Margo’s strongest set of songs.
53.
Dream Wife, Social Lubrication – The band has
optimized and refined its approach to being sardonic and absolutely serious on
subjects of feminism and modern empty-culture.
54.
Kimbra, A Reckoning – As she moves deeper into
Oceania rhythms, Kimbra has to be careful to keep her cultural appropriation in
check, but there’s no denying this album works well.
55.
Bully, Lucky for You – Alicia Bognanno makes a
great leap forward with this Bully album, maybe a bit poppy, but that’s fine by
me. Bonus points for the Soccer Mommy collaboration.
56.
The Gaslight Anthem, History Books – I might
consider this just another Springsteen-esque GA release, but for the presence
of “Michigan 1975,” which is so autobiographical for me, it scares me.
57.
Kesha, Gag Order – I gain more respect for Kesha
with each passing release, and this one is no exception.
58.
Laura Veirs, Phone Orphans – An all-acoustic,
voice-and-guitar album for Veirs, that stands out for its minimalism.
59.
Lucinda Williams, Stories from a Rock and Roll Heart
– Lucinda came back out on tour with a revved-up set of new songs, her most
inspired in a decade.
60.
Young Fathers, Heavy Heavy – Vibrant
genre-breaking songs borrowing from a hundred styles.
61.
Carly Rae Jepsen, The Loveliest Time – Jepsen
tends to break recording sessions into two studio albums, separated by about a
year. Often she saves the best for the second release. This is definitely the
case here, as the new one is more powerful than 2022’s The Loneliest Time.
62.
Tirzah, trip9love…??? – Tirzah Mastin has that
kind of floaty, haunting chanteuse voice suggestive of Julee Cruise at a supper
club, but Mica Levi adds a faraway-sounding haunted piano and unexpected
percussion, to make this a perfect horror soundtrack.
63.
The Invisible Hands, The Big Minute – This may
not have the power of The Invisible Hands’ work in the aftermath of the
Egyptian coup, but the mere fact that Alan Bishop still is bringing the band
together says a lot.
64.
The Hold Steady, The Price of Progress – At
first it seemed this might be more powerful than 2021’s Open Door Policy, but
not really. Wishful thinking.
65.
Jorja Smith, Falling or Flying – Among R&B
divas, Smith is at least as confident and bold as Beyonce, if not more so.
66.
Bethany Cosentino, Natural Disaster – A strident
solo effort from the Best Coast vocalist, maybe stronger than any Best Coast
album. I wish she hadn’t gone off on such a tirade in mid-December about
releases disappearing into the ether. It happens to everyone, Bethany.
67.
Be Your Own Pet, Mommy – Great to have our
Tennessee punk heroes back, though as they approach middle age, when does it
become mom-and-dad rock?
68.
Rhiannon Giddens, You’re the One – More
straightforward simple ballads than her last few, though I find I miss her
experimentalist partner Francesco Turrisi.
69.
Swans, The Beggar – A very strong two-disc set
this time around, although Gira has made a 20-year industry of putting out
two-disc epics.
70.
Protomartyr, Formal Growth in the Desert – The
album art and music arrangements are as adventurous as ever, though the lyrical
content seems to flag at times.
71.
Depeche Mode, Memento Mori – Gahan and Gore certainly
are brave to continue as a duo, and there are impressive tracks here, but a
studio release after the death of Andy Fletcher feels like REM did right after
Bill Berry left. REM had a significant recovery before splitting up, so Depeche
Mode might too.
72.
Rain Parade, Last Rays of a Dying Sun – Another
1980s revival, this one from the Paisley Underground. These folks age well, to
the point where it isn’t just a rehash of what’s come before.
73.
Yo La Tengo, This Stupid World – Early in 2023,
this YLT release seemed like the band’s most strident in decades, though it
still is shrouded in mist, gauze, and fog like so much of YLT.
74.
The New Pornographers, Continue as a Guest – A
few really nice songs on this one, though the fact that Neko Case was not
touring with them this fall suggests that New Porns may be past their sell-by
date.
75.
Beirut, Hadsel – Zac Condon has been lost in
Scandinavia for a while, and the resulting album is heavy on the pipe organ,
but still giving us that Beirut sound we all love.
76.
Feist, Multitudes – This is Leslie Feist’s most
straightforward pop effort in a while, though it can drag at times.
77.
Lydia Loveless, Nothing’s Gonna Stand in My Way
Again – Loveless seems to want this album to be a declaration of power, but
we already know she is the most badass bitch in country-rock. Somehow this
seems superfluous.
78.
Sparks, The Girl is Crying in Her Latte – I
think it’s fantastic the Mael brothers are still producing funny and
imaginative albums, though new works tend to get lauded, perhaps too much,
because it’s Sparks with new songs.
79.
Julie Byrne, The Greater Wings – A powerful treatise
from a songwriter who’s been missing for five years or so!
80.
The Kennedys, Headwinds – Maura’s voice is in
better shape than ever, and these songs are both interesting and emotional, but
the album is missing a bit of The Kennedys’ trademark bounce.
81.
Califone, Villagers – This is a strong set of
songs from Tim Rutili, where the experimental arrangements take a back seat to great
storytelling.
82.
Jenny Lewis, Joy’all – It’s somewhat ironic that
Jenny’s ode to middle age is greeted with a collective shrug. It’s a good
album, Jenny is still amazing in many ways, but the staying power is lacking.
83.
Maia Sharp, Reckless Thoughts – Sharp is one of
my favorite Nashville songwriters, and this collection is one of her best.
84.
Beth Bombara, It All Goes Up – I was ready to
call this Bombara’s breakthrough release, though the arrangements are a little
too overbearing for that. Still, a worthy effort.
85.
Slowdive, Everything is Alive – Confession: I
found the old Slowdive a bit snoozy, so it’s no surprise the return of Slowdive
is a little, well, slow for me.
86.
Kelela, Raven – An intriguing mix of club
electronica and R&B. Mesmerizing.
87.
Kylie Minogue, Tension – Maybe not as dazzling
as her recent disco revival, this one still has fun arrangements.
88.
VirgoTwins, ArtSpace – A very cool
hip-hop/experimental pop album.
89.
Sunny War, Anarchist Anthems – The title says it
all. This decade’s sincere Black woman folkie is far more droll and daring
than, say, Tracy Chapman.
90.
Fucked Up, One Day – A decent album from our
favorite Toronto growlers, but no new directions.
91.
Sufjan Stevens, Javelin – This was meant to
bring back the feel of Seven Swans or the 50 States Project, and it sort
of does, though not enough to put Stevens in the top ten.
92.
Water From Your Eyes, Everything’s Crushed – This
duo likes to make Situationist critiques with electronica effect, very fun at
times, though not at the level of say, 100 gecs or Shopping or Bodega.
93.
Soda Blonde, Dream Big – This is the second
album since the former Little Green Cars reconfigured as Soda Blonde. Great to
hear Faye O’Rourke’s vocals, though the arrangements are more Broadway-esque.
94.
Janelle Monae, The Age of Pleasure – Many Monae
fans are furious with her about dedicating an album to hot booty, after so many
sci-fi classics. Hell, Monae always demonstrated a bit of the sensuous, and I’m
not going to criticize her, but the new album simply isn’t as interesting as
much of her work.
95.
Paul Simon, Seven Psalms – Chances are, this
simple minimalist work will be his true last studio effort. It has great
moments, and is more impressive than recent full-band outings.
96.
John McCutcheon and Tom Paxton, Together – An
inspired pairing, although John’s been the one experiencing a later-life burst
of creative energy, Tom is sort of along for the ride.
97.
Sigur Ros, Atta – Back from a long absence with
a work that is mildly interesting, though hardly earth-shattering.
98.
Lucero, Should’ve Learned By Now – This is
actually a pretty strident set of songs from Ben, but the album was sort of
sneaked out at the start of a tour.
99.
Everything But the Girl, Fuse – The duo took a
mere 24 years to finally come up with its 11th studio album. A
welcome return for fans, though nothing that new.
100.
Sid Simons, Beneath the Brightest Smiles – An
intriguing multi-instrumentalist with his second album, after recording earlier
work as Girl Skin.
101.
Pile, All Fiction -- The mighty Pile are back, with a pretty decent
new bunch of songs.
102.
Ben Folds, What Matters Most – I feel sorry for
Ben entering middle age, trying for sincerity but not garnering much attention,
even though some tracks within are good.
103.
Xiu Xiu, Ignore Grief – Jamie really wanted to make
this release seem more mainstream, but hey, it’s Xiu Xiu.
104.
Post Malone, Austin – Maybe not as good as last
year’s outing, at least we can say Post Malone tries to minimize repeating
himself.
105.
Teenage Fanclub, Nothing Lasts Forever – The
band has shifted from its old vibrant harmonies to a style that sounds like
Zombies in good moments, and Moody Blues in others. Pleasant harmonies, but
like last year’s album, not that much to stick in the craw.
106.
Jessie Ware, That! Feels! Good! – People swear
by Jessie as a disco revivalist, but she always seems to be taking the role of
Studio 54 denizen in an unironic sense, and that brings back scarier memories
of disco.
107.
U.S. Girls, Bless This Mess – It’s cool to see
Meghan Remy take on motherhood, but among experimentalists, Amanda Palmer did
the same thing a few years ago in a far more interesting way.
108.
John Cale, Mercy – Probably should have had this
higher, but its release at the start of the year made it easy to overlook. As
in the case of Mick Jagger, it’s simply good to see Cale in his 80s making
music this good.
109.
Bill Orcutt, Jump On It! – The master of
weirdness tries to pretend he’s almost normal. I wish I had heard the
voice-manipulation album he released this year, but between this, the Amba
trio, the new saxophone trio, and the live set from King’s Place, Bill already
owns the world.
110.
Bruce Cockburn, O Sun, O Moon – Some fine songs
from the timeless Canadian folkie.
111.
Eno, Forever Voiceless – Maybe this should have
been in the Specials section, since it’s sort of a remix sans vocals of last
year’s Foreverandevernomore.
112.
Public Image Ltd., The End of the World – As
annoying as he may be, John Lydon still is cranking out more interesting music
than two-thirds of what’s out there.
113.
Wilco, Cousin – The only reason this isn’t
further near the bottom is that Cate Le Bon helped in production. But even she
couldn’t help Jeff Tweedy’s missing time in ennui. Seems that in the past
decade or so, Wilco can’t lift itself out of listlessness.
114.
Blur, Ballad of Darren – Somewhat interesting,
but proof once again that Damon Albarn’s best work is with The Good, The Bad,
and The Queen – not Blur or Gorillaz.
115.
Skating Polly, Chaos County Line – Punk and
poppy in equal measure, it may be SP’s most accessible work.
116.
Charming Disaster, Super Natural History – This
duo, with their Vaudeville meets goth zombies shtick, really is charming. And
they teach science!
117.
Quasi, Breaking the Balls of History – As glad
as I am to see Sam and Janet get back together, the studio album wasn’t all
that interesting.
118.
Foo Fighters, But Here We Are – Poor Dave Grohl,
even when making a memorial to Taylor Hawkins, he has trouble crafting a Foo
Fighters album people will remember.
119.
Lilli Lewis, All is Forgiven – Lilli’s Americana
sound is now on Righteous Babe, which seems to fit the singer perfectly.
120.
Queens of the Stone Age, In Times New Roman – Josh
Homme has a problem like Quasi or Foo Fighters. His isn’t a PR problem after
his personal scandals, but a creativity problem. This is probably the flattest
QOTSA album.
121.
Gina Burch, I Play My Bass Loud – As a fan of
the 1980s women’s punk band Raincoats, I was primed to like this, but Gina
waited too long to finally record a solo album! There’s too much of a feel of
forced energy, even with the presence of Thurston Moore.
122.
Silos, Family – Credit Walter Salas-Humara for
trying to keep some interesting Silos songwriting alive. He usually tours solo,
but it sounds as though the band still exists.
123.
Animal Collective, Isn’t It Now? – I guess Panda
Bear and Avey Tare are just trying to keep too steady a stream going, because
this one mostly goes nowhere.
124.
Andrew Hung, Deliverance – Great fun, even if a
bit narcissist.
125.
Molly Tuttle, City of Gold – I normally
appreciate anything Tuttle attempts, but here is an album of traditionalist
songs hampered by over-production.
126.
AJJ (formerly Andrew Jackson Jihad), Disposable
Everything – As usual with AJJ, there is a righteous intent here, but sort
of slow compared to the band’s early work.
127.
Lapsley, Cautionary Tales of Youth – Good
subject matter in dealing with troubled youth, although it is wrapped in
electronica and gauze.
128.
John Buffalo, s/t – An intriguing new artist/work I’m
still trying to decipher.
129.
Ian Jones, Results Not Typical – After a
promising EP, Jones comes back with a decent debut full-length.
130.
Darlingside, Everything is Alive – With each
album, I hope the Boston-area near-acapella band shifts into high gear. This
one seemed sleepy, unfortunately.
131.
Peter Case, Doctor Moan – Sorry this is ranked
so low, it really was a good return to form by the always-delightful Case.
132.
Tennis, Pollen – From the beginning, I couldn’t
quite figure out what made people adore this Denver duo, but hey, they’re
pleasant enough.
133.
Blonde Redhead, Sit Down for Dinner – For those
who didn’t notice in the last couple albums, there is little left of the
near-Sonic-Youth noisy trio of the late 1990s. Blonde Redhead is now a
near-romantic melodic band, which at least pumps up their popularity a notch.
134.
Ric Wilson and Chromeo, Clusterfunk – A cool
enough groove session, but not startling.
135.
The Struts, Pretty Vicious – No they’re not.
Pretty formulaic, more like it..
136.
Far From Saints, s/t – An interesting new-country
debut, lots of predictable moments, but fun enough.
137.
Great Lake Swimmers, Uncertain Country – I’m
glad the band is once again more than a Tony Dekker solo outing, and the first
couple tracks have an REM sound, but that fades…
138.
Hackedepicciotto, Keepsakes – The oddball duo is
back with another round of unusual ramblings. Cool in parts.
139.
Mac DeMarco, Five Easy Hot Dogs – Why make a
slow, emotionless album about being slow and emotionless? I don’t get it.
140.
Iggy Pop, Every Loser – You know with certain
elder statesmen, you like the idea of xxx (Iggy Pop), without exactly loving
their latest work? Yeah, me too.
141.
The Hives, The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons – This
sounded like a good conceptual effort, but it was The Hives back at their
rock-n-roll stereotype game.
142.
Jack River, Endless Summer – No intent to rank
this so low, a nice exuberant offering from a new artist.
143.
Catbells, Partly Cloudy – Ethereal, sweet, and
worth a listen.
144.
Noah Kahan, Stick Season – I’m not putting this
at the end to give a finger to all the people that love Kahan. Sometimes I find
his songwriting clever. But he’s one of those artists people adore for being
more mediocre than his peers. In live performance, he displays the worst
tendencies of Mumford & Sons and Avett Brothers in over-playing the house.
And the fans eat it up.
Special
Albums (Live, Compilations, Splits, CD-Rs, MP3, etc.)
1. Car
Seat Headrest, Faces from the Masquerade – A spirited 2022 live set,
focused on songs from the deep-pandemic album Making a Door Less Open. Will
Toledo triumphant.
2. Black
Country New Road, Live at Bush Hall – People who defined BCNR by Isaac
Wood are bound to be ambivalent or even disappointed with this album. The band
decided it would not perform Wood-era songs, and BCNR is distinctly a
women-dominated band these days. As for me, I like the new tunes, and I saw
them in September and was quite impressed. I mean, a live set realized as a
high-school prom? Great stuff. So doubters can go snuff off.
3. Cat
Power, Sings Dylan’s 1966 Royal Albert Hall Concert – Many of those who
didn’t think it was a sacrilege merely to replicate Albert Hall, still
complained that Cat Power didn’t bring enough of the rebellious-electric-Dylan
feel to her interpretation. How ridiculous. This is Chan Marshall singing a
certain selection of stunning Dylan songs. Bravo.
4. Matmos,
Return to Archive – Matmos is at its most fun when its creative noise
has a central theme, and this album, remixing the “non-human sounds” (animal
field recordings) from Folkways Records, is one of the best concepts yet.
5. SPELLLING,
SPELLLING and the Mystery School – This one is in Specials because
Chrystia Cabral reimagines certain songs from earlier albums. None dare call
them remixes.
6. Various
Artists, More Than a Whisper: The Music of Nanci Griffith – A very nice
memorial to Griffith’s work, featuring the likes of War and Treaty, Sarah
Jarosz, Iris DeMent, and Todd Snider.
7. Thinking
Fellers Union Local 282, These Things Remain Unassigned – Oh ho, the
skeptic may say, I already have the deeply-underground three-CD set Duck
Duck Chimp of TFUL282 rarities. I certainly don’t need the 2-LP collection.
Um, yes you do. There’s almost no overlap. Thinking Fellers left detritus
everywhere.
8. The
Selecter, Live at NEC 1980 – Probably my favorite release of Record
Store Day, Selecter was always my favorite of the early-1980s ska bands.
9. Joni
Mitchell, Live at Newport – The existence of this album is a blessing,
and Joni’s voice is in decent shape, but this is mostly a jam session album of Joni
sharing songs with Brandi and other friends.
10.
Taylor Swift, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) – I’ve
been uncertain about including the re-recorded TS albums she made to retain
artistic ownership of her older works. But this one in particular has plenty of
unreleased material. I might have to reconsider the older ones, too.
11.
Taylor Swift, Folklore: The Long Pond Studio
Sessions – A lesson in Record Store Day madness. Is the video documentary
worth it for understanding Folklore? Of course. Is the vinyl version
worth owning if you could get it at a reasonable price? Again, yes. But should
you pay more than $200 for it? Of course not.
12.
Midlake, Live at Roundhouse – Another unsung
great from Record Store Day, this one is a 2-LP set, recorded in 2022,
featuring more recent works.
13.
The Feelies, Feelies Play Velvets – Since The
Feelies sound so much like a mumbling Velvet Underground, this live set of 18
songs performed in 2018 may seem superfluous, but it’s really great.
14.
Romeo Void, Live at Mabuhay Gardens – Since
Mabuhay was already on a downward stroke by the time Romeo Void got there, this
might seem an oddity, but since Romeo Void didn’t make it big until mid-1980s,
it’s like hearing the later school of Bay Area punk.
15.
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Live at Red
Rocks 2022, Vols. 1 and 2 – King Gizzard kicks out so much material, it may
be hard to pick and choose which live sets to purchase (or you may go bankrupt
being a completeist). I focused on the Colorado releases because hey, Red
Rocks. The correct answer to “Where do I start with King Gizzard?” is “You
start anywhere you like and go over under sideways down, backwards forwards
square and round.” All answers are correct.
16.
Nico, Live at the Library Theatre 1980 – Yet
another treat from Record Store Day. There simply isn’t enough Nico live
material released.
17.
Wye Oak, Every Day Like the Last – Although this
is billed as a collection of singles and unreleased material, it displays a
certain consistent flow in showing Jenn Wasner in both electronic and
guitar-centric sides. A real treat.
18.
Bill Orcutt Quartet, Live at King’s Place – The
recorder of this marvelous set was apologetic that there are no recordings of
the Café Oto show where Bill had each member offer an improv solo. But really,
who can complain? Orcutt’s between-tracks patter make for a very human set.
19.
Rosali, Live at Café 9 – Not to be confused with
megastar Rosalia, this Philadelphia singer-songwriter is quietly amazing.
20.
No-Neck Blues Band, Niente Piu Canzoni – It’s
been a minute since No-Neck stopped performing together, but new recordings
keep getting dredged up from somewhere. Hey, for people like John Coltrane, the
trend went on for decades.
21.
Wild Carnation, Tricycle – Continuing the
Feelies festival, this album by the band’s Brenda Sauter apparently was
released in the 1980s, but no one heard it, so I’m including the 2023
re-release here.
22.
Jackie-O Motherfucker, Bayonet – My comments
about No-Neck apply to JOMF, as someone will find an unreleased gem from the
early 2000s every once in a while, but in many, Tom has assembled a JOMF
version that sounds like weird psychedelic country. Not that there’s anything
wrong with that.
23.
Laraaji, Segue to Infinity – A massive
compilation from a far-gone hippie. Pretty interesting if you like that sort of
thing.
24.
Elvis Costello, Bacharach/Costello Complete – With
the passing of Burt Bacharach, Elvis wanted to put out a memorial including
virtually everything the two worked on together, but most songs have been heard
in the original collaboration.
25.
Neil Young, Chrome Dreams
26.
Neil Young, Before and After – These two
reinterpretations are different enough from original releases, they deserve to
be listed here, but honestly (as I said last year), Young has been releasing so
many damned albums from the Neil Young Archives, it’s hard to keep everything
straight.
Singles and EPs
I thought 2022 was slow for singles and EPs. This year,
the trend continued.
1.
Luke Combs, “Fast Car” – I don’t want to hear about cultural
appropriation. He’s made Tracy Chapman much richer, with a fine and emotional
cover of her song. If you can sit through the final part about the collapse of
what should have been an ideal relationship without crying like a baby, you’re
a stronger person than me.
2.
Brigitte Calls Me Baby, This House is Made of
Corners EP – Imagine wandering into an anonymous road house and hearing a
honky-tonk band with a lead singer reminiscent of Chris Isaak, who just knocks
you off your feet. And he’s backed by Johnny Marr. Yeah, it’s like that.
3.
Jason Isbell, “Death Wish” -- A grim and somewhat appropriate single
for 2023. I think we’ve all loved someone like that at some point.
4.
Olivia Rodrigo, Guts Secret Tracks – You have to
admire the woman for marketing genius – collect the extra songs from the
different vinyl versions of Guts, put ‘em all on a single piece of vinyl
released on Record Store Day Black Friday, and watch that vinyl instantly shoot
to $200 or so. Maybe not worth it, but the album art is great.
5.
Daneshevskaya, Long is the Tunnel – Even if Anna
Daneshevskaya can be a trifle melodramatic at times, there’s plenty of room in
the indie world for an angsty Russian Jew. Cool stuff!
6.
Black Mariah Theater, Mean to Be Mean – These
two Utah sisters are a rockabilly throwback hybrid and modern punk blunderbuss
that are a pleasure to experience.
7.
Little Moon, “Wonder Eye” – The judges from the NPR
Tiny Desk Contest, coming from a variety of musical genres, were in unusual
consensus about the greatness of Little Moon. I certainly like Emma Hardyman’s
vocals and lyrics, but there’s too much hippie sincerity going on for me!
8.
Lankum, Live in Dublin 2023 – A Record Store Day
Black Friday special we didn’t get in the U.S. Bonus points for being recorded
on my birthday, in Dublin.
9.
The Smile, Europe: Live Recordings 2022 – More
often than not, Thom Yorke’s Smile project shows more signs of life than
Radiohead. That shouldn’t be a surprise.
10.
Spiritbox, The Fear of Fear – Another six songs
to prove that Courtney LaPlante is the goddess of screamcore, shifting from a
raspy howl to soaring melodic presentations suggestive of Caroline Polachek, in
tracks like “Too Close/Too Late” and “The Void.”
11.
Lisa Said, Missed Connections – The sampler of
Said’s work represented here will have you calling for more.
12.
Amanda Shire, Sound Emporium – You have to give Jason
Isbell’s wife credit for always being supportive of RSD and independent
artists, and she manages to drag Jason in for a few zingers.
13.
The Beatles, Now and Then – A valiant attempt to
give some depth to a mediocre demo from John Lennon, I finally got it when I
could buy a CD version for $10. But you want me to spend $20 for 7” vinyl or
$22 for 12” vinyl? Highway robbery.
14.
Boygenius, The Rest – Given what a great debut
album our power trio released this year, I was hoping their second EP wouldn’t
amount to leftovers from the cutting-room floor. But that’s pretty much what it
is. Definitely fans-only.
15.
Manchester Orchestra, Valley of Vision – Glad we
got a touch of Andy this year, although this wasn’t one of the band’s knockout
EPs.
